A Pirate’s Tale

The Only Solution is Retribution

Contents

Books by Saxon Andrew

Chapter OneChapter TwoChapter ThreeChapter FourChapter FiveChapter SixChapter SevenChapter EightChapter NineChapter TenChapter ElevenChapter TwelveChapter ThirteenChapter FourteenChapter FifteenChapter SixteenChapter SeventeenChapter EighteenChapter NineteenChapter TwentyChapter Twenty-OneChapter Twenty-TwoChapter Twenty-ThreeChapter Twenty-FourChapter Twenty-FiveEpilogue

Books by Saxon Andrew

The Annihilation Series

Love Conquers All

The Power of a Queen

A Rose Grows in Weeds

Tommy’s Tale

Searcher

Demon’s Sacrifice

Finding Keepers
(The Seven books above are audio books at Audible.com)

Prequel-Psychic Beginnings

Searching for a Hero

Dahlia’s Deception

Annihilation-The Complete Series Box Set

Ashes of the Realm

Juliette’s Dream

Greyson’s Revenge

Death of an Empire

The Return of the Realm

Lens of Time

The Pyramid Builders

Planet Predators

Pray for the Prey

The End of Time

Star Rover-The Worst of Time

Star Rover-Running Out of Time

Lens of Time-Chosen To Die

The Fight for Creation

Life Warrior

Scout Warrior

Ultimate Warrior

Star Chase

The Lost Prince
(An audio book at Audible.com)

Nowhere to Run

Nowhere to Hide

Probe Predators

Jesse’s Starship

Mike’s War

Joshua’s Walls

Nemesis

Revenge is Best Served Hot

The Search for Orion

Trapped in Time

The Time Takers

Taming A Planet

Exinction

Escape to Earth

Running From Fate

Fighting for Space

Defending Holy Ground

The Legacy of a Conqueror

Living Legends

Defending Earth
The Sequel Series to Escape to Earth

Searching for Death Feeders

Discovery Means Death

The Death Prophecies

The Coming of the Prophet

The Eyes of the Prophet

The Unknown Enemy Will Kill You

No Technology Is Invincible

Survival is Never Free

The Last Prophecy

Stories from the Filament Universe

Gregor’s Run

A Pirate’s Tale

Coming soon

The Death Filament

Chapter One

The tall pirate looked at the assembled passengers and crew in the commercial liner’s landing bay as he stared at the images on his communicator.  His crew had gone through the ship and moved everyone on board to the bay, except for the small babies in the nursery, which were left unattended.  He glanced at the back wall and saw the armored safe with green lights still glowing above the rotary dial.  He took a piece of paper out of his pouch and said, “I’m looking for a passenger named Serge Ohaulo.”  No one moved and he nodded to the pirate holding a blaster next to him.  The Pirate walked forward, grabbed a woman out of the crowd, and threw her on the deck away from the others.  He fired the blaster and the woman didn’t have time to scream before the upper half of her body disappeared.  The tall man sighed, “Serge, I’ll keep doing this until you step forward.”  The pirate nodded again and four passengers grabbed a man and shoved him out of the crowd.  A middle aged woman along with two dark haired girls came running out of the crowd and stood beside the man.

The pirate smiled, “Good, I was hoping I wouldn’t have to find the three of you as well.”  He turned to the man, “Serge, I need the code to open the safe.”

The man raised his chin and said defiantly, “I won’t give it to you.  Too many families have trusted me with their life savings and I’ll not betray them.  Kill me if you must but I will not give you the code.”

The pirate walked over in front of the middle aged man and shook his index finger at Serge, “Tisk, tisk!  I wouldn’t be so stupid as to kill you.  Then how would I get the code.”

Serge smiled, “Exactly!”

The pirate pulled a dagger out of a scabbard on his belt, moved forward, and jammed it into the top of the woman’s head standing next to Serge.  It penetrated all the way to the hilt and the woman fell right where she was standing without making a sound.  Serge’s mouth went wide open as one of the young girls standing next to him fell to the floor on top of the dead woman wailing and sobbing.  The Pirate shook his head, “Serge, Serge, why does it have to be like this?  The next one to die will be one of your daughters here and if that doesn’t work, I’ll have her baby brought down from the nursery and continue this exercise.  Why don’t you save me the trouble and just give me the code.”

The young girl looked up at the pirate, “You’re nothing but a coward!!”  She turned to her father, “Don’t tell him anything; he’s going to kill all of us anyway!!”

The pirate put his hand to his chest just under his neck, “You cut me to the quick.  I never kill needlessly.  Your mother would still be alive but for Serge’s reluctance to do as I request.”

A young man standing in the crowd said where everyone could hear, “He’s being honest.  He won’t kill us if you give him what he wants.”

The woman looked at the young man and sneered, “You must be one of them!!”

The tall pirate looked at the young man and asked, “How do you know this?”

The young man shrugged, “You’re Captain John Blakely.  You are known for your ruthlessness but you’re also known for not killing needlessly.”

“And you know this because….”

“I’ve read about you.  You once said it was bad for business to kill needlessly.  You said you could always recapture those you freed later, hold them for ransom, and continue to profit.  They would be a gift that keeps on giving.”

The pirate chuckled, “You’re right.”  He looked at the girl still on the floor with the dead body of her mother, “I will set you free if Serge here will just give me the code.  I‘ll really take no pleasure in killing you, your sister, and your nephew.  But if he continues to refuse to give it to me, I will do it.”

Suddenly, Serge grabbed the dagger protruding from his wife’s head, pulled it out, and stabbed it into his heart.”  The girl screamed again as the huge pirate lunged to grab Serge’s arm and stop him.  He didn’t make it in time and he looked up and rolled his eyes as Serge died in front of him, “Hell’s pus bucket!!”  He looked at the pirate beside him and saw he was quivering, “He moved too fast, John!!”

The pirate sighed and then shook his head, “Recall the crew.  Serge was braver than I ever thought him capable.” 

“John, we could take the liner and disassemble it elsewhere,” a pirate holding a blaster pointed at the passengers and crew suggested.  The tall pirate started shaking his head, “Jeremy, when we stopped this ship, it automatically sent out a distress call.  It will continue to send out distress signals and attempting to tow this ship away will only slow us down and allow the Proctors on Unity Warships that are coming this way to find us easily.”  The younger pirate opened his mouth and the big pirate said, “And before you start suggesting we just cut the safe out of the wall, the safe will auto-destruct the moment we interrupt the power source to it and take us out with it.  Serge won this round and there’s nothing we can do about it now.”  The pirate looked at the crew and passengers packed into the landing bay and then turned to the young man, “Its times like these that really try my patience.  I should kill everyone here but that would be…” 

He lowered his head and stared at the young man, who said, “Bad for business.”

“Can you tell me why it would be bad for business?” the pirate asked with a smile.

“Because if you killed everyone you captured, what would be the incentive for anyone to ever give the code to a safe?”

The pirate laughed out loud and then said, “Very good!!”  He looked down at Serge and sighed, “You earned the faith of your investors.  It’s such a shame that the brave are always the first to die.”  The pirate turned and walked out of the landing bay into the port of the starship connected to its hull without looking back.  The five other pirates backed out behind him covering the landing bay with their hand blasters, and exited the port.  The room was silent except for the young woman’s wails as they waited for the pirate ship to fire on them.  They watched the huge vessel move away from the hull, ignite its boosters, and disappear.   Most of those in the landing bay fell to the floor in relief.

The Captain of the commercial liner walked up to the young man who had called out the pirate with two crewmen behind him, “Tell me how you know so much about that pirate!?!”

The young man looked at the two large crewmen and shrugged as he turned to the Captain, “It’s like I told him; I’ve read a lot about him.  John Blakely killed my brother on a ship like this a year ago.  I’ve come out here to hunt him down and kill him.”

The Captain stared at the young man and started shaking his head.  He was about six foot two and had a lean physique.  His facial features were sharp and his green eyes didn’t waver.   “You aren’t big enough to handle my sailors much less that giant pirate.”  The young man shrugged and the Captain said, “Put him in lockup for the authorities to question when we land.”

The young man lowered his eyes and said, “I’ll gladly go to the authorities when we land but I paid for a first class trip and I intend to take advantage of my fare.  I will not allow you to, as you say, lock me up.”

The Captain sneered, “Lock him up!!”

The two crewmembers came around the captain and in an instant, they were on the deck writhing in pain.  The young man moved forward until his face was an inch from the Captain’s, “Would you like to be next?”

The Captain’s eyes went wide in fear as he heard his sailors moaning in pain, “No!  That won’t be necessary!”

“Good.  I told you that I’ll meet with the Proctors without resistance when we land.  I won’t be going anywhere.”  The young man turned and walked out of the landing bay toward the first class corridor.  The young woman watched what happened in silence as she held on to her mother and father’s bodies.  She looked at her sister and said tearfully, “You should go to the nursery and stay with Ethan.”  Her sister nodded and walked away weeping as she turned back to her dead parents in her lap and closed her eyes as she quietly wept.

One of the passengers said loud enough that everyone could hear, “That young man probably saved us by reminding that brute that he doesn’t kill needlessly.  He certainly doesn’t deserve to be incarcerated.”  The other passengers applauded his remarks.

• • •

The young man sat in his chair in first class and heard the passengers behind him start murmuring.  He exhaled sharply and turned around.  The Captain and a crewman holding a hand blaster were walking up the aisle toward his row.  He looked at the passenger sitting beside him and said, “We really should trade seats.”

The man sitting next to the aisle stood up and the young man slid into his aisle seat.  The Captain walked one row past him and turned, “You will go now to our lock up or I will order you to be shot.”

The young man smiled, “Ok, order it.”

The Captain’s face showed his shock, “I’m not kidding!!”

“Go ahead.  If you think your crewman can hit me without hitting the bulkhead or another passenger, go for it.  I feel I must tell you that if he even starts to pull the trigger, I will take that blaster and shove it up your backside!”

The Captain stared at the young man as the crewman put the blaster on the back of the young man’s head.  In an instant, the crewman was holding his hand and it was clear two fingers were broken.  The young man had the blaster and held it out grip first to the Captain, “Please take it.  You’re pretty good at putting your crew in danger.  Let’s see if you have the courage to do your own dirty work.  Please, take it, Captain!”

The Captain’s face was white and showed his fear as the other passengers in first class began yelling at him.  They called him names that the young man decided he should be writing down for later use.  It was clear they did not appreciate the Captain’s behavior.  The young man stood up and stuck his face back in the Captain’s, “If you bother me again, you won’t be able to command a liner for six months!”  The young man moved the blaster in his left hand and held out the blaster’s power pack.  The Captain’s eyes grew wider; a power pack could not be removed without special tools and this man had taken it out in a couple of seconds with just one hand.

“Who are you?”

“Your worst nightmare if you bother me again!”  He looked at the crewman, “You need to get those fingers looked at.”  He sat back down and ignored the Captain, who walked out of the first class section to the jeers of the other occupants.  The young woman sat in the rear of the section and wondered, like the Captain, who was this man? 

• • •

When the ship landed, the young man stood up, retrieved his backpack out of the storage bin, and walked calmly to the landing bay where the Captain was standing with two Proctors.  The Captain pointed the young man out and one of the Proctors raised a device and pointed it at him.  He studied the small display on the device and nudged the other Proctor with his elbow.  The other Proctor looked at the device and they stepped aside as the young man walked past them.

The Captain watched them and said sternly, “What are you doing?!”

The ranking Proctor looked at the Captain, “You say you threatened him with a blaster?”  The Captain nodded.  The Proctor snorted, “We are going to recommend that you be relieved of your command and never be allowed to command another ship.”

“WHY?!”

“You deliberately threatened a Purple Card Warrior.  You’re lucky he didn’t kill you.”  The young woman who was following the young man out of first class, lingered to hear the Proctors.  She began moving quickly through the crowd to catch up to him.  He stopped suddenly and turned toward her, “Why are you chasing me?”

“I need to talk with you!”

He tilted his head slightly, “I’m sorry about your parents, but….”

“Don’t be.  My father saved my life by taking his own.  He also saved my sister and her baby.  However, I heard you say you intend to kill that Pirate.”

The young man lowered his eyebrows, “That is between me and John Blakely.”

“It won’t cost you anything to listen but a few moments of your time; talk with me!  Please!”

The man sighed and stepped aside.  She walked past him and saw her sister rushing out of the gathered crowd carrying her baby.  The young woman hugged her sister and said, “I’ll talk to you about what happened later.  I have something to do first.”

Her sister’s eyes were red and tearful as she said, “What is more important than telling the family what happened?”

“Making the one that did it pay for his actions!!”  The sister glanced at the young man watching them and nodded in agreement as she walked away.

• • •

Two armored security guards carrying shoulder blasters came up to the young woman as they walked off the Starliner and she waved them away.  They stepped aside but continued to follow them at a discrete distance.  The woman walked into a restaurant on the departure level in the space port and went to a corner table.  She sat down and the young man pointed to the other side of the booth, “Pardon me, but you should sit there.”

“Why?”

The young man smiled, “My Grandfather told me that one should never put their back to an open room.”

“My father told me the same thing.  Come over here and sit beside me if you want to see the room.” 

The young man stared at her for a few moments and then went to her side of the booth and sat down beside her, “What do you wish to discuss?”

“First things first; what’s your name?”

“Leo.”

“Ok, I can see you’re going to be evasive so let’s cut to the chase.”

Leo smiled, “I highly recommend you do.  I have things to do and you’re preventing me from doing them.”

“Before we start, I heard one of the Proctors say that you are a Purple Card Warrior.  What exactly is that?”  Leo stared at her and didn’t answer.  “I want to make you an offer and I want to make sure you’re capable of doing what I need.”

“Exactly what do you need?”

“Were you serious about killing that pirate?”

“Pretty much every sentence I’ve ever heard with the word ‘killing’ in it was extremely serious.” Leo replied.

“I want to kill that pirate but the reality of my being able to do it is remote.  Can you do it?”

The young man stood up and she grabbed his arm, “Please, don’t go!”

“Then you better give me one good reason why I should continue listening to this nonsense.”

“I will support your effort to do it.”

Leo’s eyes narrowed, “Support?”

“You must be aware of who my father is, I mean was?”

“I have no idea who he was and what does that have to do with our discussion?”

“My father was the wealthiest man in this quadrant.”

Leo stared at her and sat back down, “I don’t want to call you a liar, but I’ve seen the list of the top twenty five wealthiest families in this quadrant, and your father’s name wasn’t on the list.”

“That pirate attacked our liner to get at what my father had placed in the wall safe.  That should tell you something.”

“That doesn’t make him one of the wealthiest men in this quadrant.  I do know his name is not on the wealthiest list.”

“That’s because he uses his mother’s maiden name and not his own when he travels.”

“What is his name?”

Serge Ohaulo Romanov.”  The young man stared at her in silence.  She waited and finally broke the silence, “I’m reasonably sure you doubt what I’m telling you.”

“You think?”

“What’s the main reason you don’t believe me?”

“Well, for starters, why would the richest man on this side of the galaxy be traveling with his family without defenses to protect them?  That’s not something that a smart merchant would do and I’m certain the head of the Romanov Family wouldn’t do it either.”

“He wouldn’t trust anyone else with this transfer.”

“Why not.”

“Because anyone else would have given in to that pirate and revealed the code to save themselves.”

“Your father was pretty stupid for not giving it to them.  Wealth can be replaced but there is no replacing dead.”

“There were eight trillion credits in that safe, Leo.” 

For the first time, she saw the young man show emotion, “That’s impossible!!  No safe can hold that many credits!!  Hell, four ships that size couldn’t hold it.”

“The safe had two hundred and twenty pounds of Trillium in it estimated to be worth eight trillion credits.”

Leo leaned back in the booth, “Why, for creation’s sake, would anyone be moving that rarest of metals on a commercial liner?  A tenth of an ounce of trillium is worth more than the entire liner and a gram of it would destroy an entire city out to two hundred miles.  A few atoms of Trillium injected into a reactor will extend the life of the fuel ten times its normal life.  Moving that much on a Starliner is absurd!”

“Because of the sheer audacity of it.  No one would ever expect him to do it and he thought using his mother’s maiden name would allow him to go unnoticed.”

“Someone noticed!”

“I know.  And they knew he had the code to the safe.  My father would have let all of us die and never reveal the code.”

“Why?”

“Because more than a billion middle class workers on our planet gave him their life savings to invest in a new company.  They would have been destitute if he had given the pirate that code.  He chose to die first.”

“What happens now that he’s dead and no one knows the code?”

“I know it.”

“WHAT!!!  You’ve got to be…”

“What, crazy?”

Leo sighed, “That pirate had information that could only have been passed to him by someone occupying a high position inside your father’s company.  They knew about your mother, sister, and you, as well as your sister’s baby, traveling with him.  They also knew the name your father was using.”

“I don’t think they knew what was in the safe.”

Leo stared at her and then slowly nodded, “You’re right.  The pirate would not have flown away so quickly if he knew how much was in it.  He would have brought a pirate fleet with him to take possession.”

“It would have been a waste of time.  Without the code, the safe could not be opened without destroying the contents.”

“Were the contents insured?” Leo asked.

“No, to start with, who would insure that much and purchasing the insurance, if anyone was willing to take that sort of risk, would have made the contents known to others that would possibly take the risk of stealing it.  Like I said, my father was audacious.”

“Whoever educated that pirate didn’t know you knew the code.”

“Or that the woman traveling with my father was not his wife.”

Leo lowered his head, “You certainly made it appear she was; your grief looked genuine.”  The woman shrugged.  Leo looked out across the restaurant and after a few moments, said, “I suspect she was in with whoever set your father up.”

The woman’s eyes narrowed, “She wasn’t my mother but she was considered a close part of my family.  I did love her and she would never do anything to harm us.”

“Then how did the pirates find the ship?”

“What?”

“How did the pirates find the ship?  I heard two of the crew talking in the crowd while everyone was being rounded up and they said they had not followed the normal course the liner used after its first stop to go to Kellinger; they took a completely different pattern of filaments.  The only way for the pirates to find the liner was to have someone on board with a subspace digital transmitter who would activate it once it left for Kellinger.  I feel reasonably certain that your father had his organization screen anyone traveling on that ship, at least I think he’d take no chances of someone being on board that would place his metal in danger.  That means, it had to be someone he trusted who wouldn’t be scanned.”  She stared at him in silence and then he said as he tilted his head, “I wondered why the pirate killed the woman he thought was your father’s wife first.  You always save the one that’s closest to the target for last.  Meaning no disrespect, your father has two daughters but only one wife.  That tells me they knew she wasn’t his wife.  It sort of confirms for me that even if your father was going to give them the code, John Blakely had orders to kill the woman traveling with your father.”

“Which would remove a possible witness to what was going on,” the young woman replied with a sigh.

Leo nodded, “I suspect if you examine the woman’s body before anyone can get to it, you’ll find the transmitter somewhere inside her along with a wireless activator in her purse or pocket.”

The woman lifted a communication device out of her purse and pressed a button.  “I want Lyla’s body held.”  She listened and said, “WHAT?!”  She abruptly ended the call, “Her body was picked up before we exited the liner.  Someone claiming to be a family member had the paperwork authorizing them to take her.”

“Why does that surprise you?”

“What you said makes sense but Lyla had no family.  Whoever took her body was working for someone other than my father.”  She thought for a moment and said, “My name is Anastacia Romanov.  You can call me Ana.  I’ve just seen a message on my communicator and the military forces have arrived to transfer the contents of the safe to the Unity’s Treasury and need me to open the safe.”

“How dependable are the forces making the transfer?”

“They’re Round Table Guards.”

Leo’s eyes widened, “No one is going to try and take them on.”

Ana nodded, “The only place where the contents were in danger was out in open space while being transported to the Treasury here on Kellinger.  They missed the opportunity to get it there.”

“By the way, what company is your father investing in?”

“A friend of my father has invented a means of teleportation.”  Leo was stunned by her answer.  “My father proved the process actually works and was given ninety-nine percent ownership if he could deliver eight trillion credits to the Unity’s Treasury here on Kellinger today.  If this new technology existed yesterday, my father would still be alive.  We’d have just teleported the Trillium from our planet to the Treasury here.”

“Now I see how the pirates were persuaded to do this.”

“How is that, Leo?”

“Piracy will be a thing of the past if no ships are carrying anything of value.  If cargo can be teleported directly to its destination, pirates will be put out of business.  It’s in their best interests to prevent this new technology from being developed.”

Ana sighed, “You’re right, who would need ships.  Just step through a door to the planet you want to go to.”

Leo’s eyes narrowed, “That would end Pirates all together.  I have a suggestion.”

“What is that?”

Leo told her and her eyes flew wide open.  She picked up her communicator and before activating it, she asked, “Is Leo your real name?”

“My name is Leonidas Alexander Piper.  You still haven’t told me why I’m here.”

“I’m willing to offer you ten percent of this new company along with the necessary funds to purchase whatever you need to capture Pirate John Blakely.”

“Capture?”

“Yes, I only require that I be there when you take him into custody.”

“I’ll have to think about that.”

“Leo, do you know what I’m offering you?”

“I do and it’s a good offer.  But I lost my brother and you obviously have leaks in your organization that would cause huge problems I don’t want to deal with.  Why would you pay this much, anyway?”

Ana stared at Leo and said, “Because Serge was not my father; he was my husband.”

Chapter Two

The large black vehicle drove up to the liner and parked under the baggage compartment.  Three men lifted a casket out of the vehicle and carried it up the boarding ramp and disappeared into the Starliner.  A few minutes later, four men appeared out of the baggage door under the ship carrying the casket.  They slid it into the rear of the black vehicle and tied it down.  The black vehicle pulled away and written on the back of it was Romanov Services.

While the body was being removed from the liner, an armored convoy was driving up to the liner and twenty armored soldiers jumped out of a massive vehicle, went up the ramp, and disappeared into the landing bay.  Right behind them, Ana Romanov came down the ramp out of the Starliner and entered the landing bay under the huge ship wiping her face with a white cloth; it was clear she was weeping from the loss of her parents.  A giant armored transport moved out of sight under the Starliner.  There was activity under the baggage chute as a large box was taken out of the ship and put in the back of the giant armored transport.  Ten minutes later, the twenty soldiers exited the landing bay and ran under the open armored shield into the rear of the giant vehicle as it moved out from under the Starliner.  The shield was lowered and the six soldiers locked it securely in place.  The huge vehicle’s engines roared to life and it moved out from under the Starliner inside a perimeter of ten other armored troop carriers gathered around the Starliner. 

Every one of the hundred troops traveling with the convoy were carrying heavy shoulder blasters and were watching the surroundings of the convoy closely.  The convoy pulled away from the liner and headed out of the space port toward the main highway, where the local authorities had blocked all traffic from using the super highway. Three armored hover ships were flying aerial coverage over the eleven vehicles in the convoy. 

The Convoy made fast progress and almost made it to the Unity’s Treasury exit before it ran into trouble.  A large moving transport that had been stopped in traffic on a side road waited until the convoy arrived at its location and ten men jumped out of the rear quickly and lifted shoulder missiles and took aim.  The three armored floaters flying above the convoy were hit by three missiles each and exploded over the top of the convoy raining hot debris down on the ten armored vehicles.  A tenth missile was fired at the armored troop transport directly in front of the giant vehicle carrying the armored box flipping it end over end as it went up in a massive explosion.  The ten men calmly pulled another shoulder missile launcher out of the truck and fired at the other nine troop transports blowing them into flaming wreckage.

A giant warship came flashing down out of the sky and shot out the lasers on top of the massive armored transport as it moved directly over it and lowered a giant grappling claw.  Six more warships came flashing in from over the horizon and began firing on the Proctor’s that were roaring in on armored air-assault jets. The Assault Jets were no match for the warships’ blasters and debris from them rained down on all sides of the major highway as they plummeted to earth.  The giant vehicle was gripped by the claw and pulled up into the giant landing bay of the warship.  Ten minutes later, all seven ships flew into the atmosphere at six times the speed of sound breaking glass in most of the buildings below their escape route.

The Planetary Defense Warships came flashing in off the filament but arrived ten minutes too late.  They had been called out to investigate an attack on a Cruet Freighter in the outer planets.  They arrived at the site of the distress call and found burning debris of a derelict transport.  They were tricked into leaving the planet to investigate and the report of the attack at the planet came in as they arrived at the burning derelict.  They were too far out from the filament to arrive before the attackers managed to get into under space and activate their stardrives.

• • •

The Pirates arrived at their base and John Blakely ordered the driver, rider, and all passengers in the armored transport killed.   High powered lasers burned through the cab of the armored vehicle and the driver along with the rider were riddled with laser blasts.  The doors to the landing bay were opened exposing the vehicle to the vacuum of space which would kill any survivors as it rushed through the hundreds of holes shot into the vehicle.  It was only then that the landing bay was pressurized and the technicians began cutting through the armored shield on the rear of the smoking vehicle.  Blakely sighed,   Romanov’s two daughters and their baby probably died when the vacuum rushed into the transport.  Oh well, he wasn’t going to endanger his men in an effort to save them.

The Pirate crew cut their way into the giant transport and Blakely was surprised the two daughters weren’t on the transport.  The armored box was taken out of the compartment and placed on the deck.  The locks were burned away and the box opened.  John Blakely walked forward smiling and looked in the box.  He looked at the pirates gathered around the box and started laughing.  He doubled over and started slapping his leg.  Inside the box was the body of Serge Romanov with a note pinned to his shirt saying that the Romanov Family was willing to buy back the body.  They had pulled a switch on him and he was forced to admit that they were ingenious in how they had done it.  The box had been measured with a mass scope from a distance and its weight matched what his source said it should have weighted.  His source had told him the contents weren’t valuable and he should ignore the box but he had to destroy the convoy after his failure to get the code; he had quickly set up the ambush.  He decided to retrieve the safe’s contents because a lot of effort had gone into protecting it.  It appeared he had no way of knowing if his source was right about its value; the contents were gone.  “Contact the Romanovs and set up a trade for the body.”  His assistant nodded and Blakely lowered his eyes as he walked away.  Someone had pulled a fast one.  He intended to find out who did it.

• • •

Leo turned the black vehicle into the armored entrance of the Treasury and was stopped by two giant robots.  “State your business!!”

Leo looked at the closest robot and said, “I am here to make a deposit for Romanov Industries.”

The Robot scanned the vehicle and said, “Move the vehicle inside the two main blast doors.”  Leo nodded and moved the vehicle forward until it passed through two giant heavily armored crash doors.  He stepped out and saw Ana standing beside a tall distinguished looking bald man. “It appears you were right about the convoy being attacked.  Thank you for convincing me and my sister to not go with it and take other transportation.”

Leo tilted his head, “I could hear the blasts over at the main highway.”

Ana turned to the bald man, “Please check the contents and make sure they meet the agreed on value.”

The three men in the vehicle pulled the casket out and opened the lid.  The Bald Man lifted a device and scanned the inside.  “It appears you are three ounces above the agreed on price.”

Ana shrugged, “Serge wanted to make sure there was enough to meet the criteria in the event market prices fluctuated.  Put the surplus into my account.”

Leo watched Ana handle the transactions and he could see she had done things like this many times before.  She stood about five feet seven inches and her black hair was tied back in a ponytail.  She was slightly overweight although her bust was small.  Her brown eyes were bright and she talked…a lot.  It was clear she was accustomed to having her way.

The bald man nodded and handed her an electronic clip board, “Please sign the spaces with an X next to them.”  Ana signed and the man said, “The funds are now available to you for electronic transfer to the seller.  The funds will be held for two days to give you time to insure what you are purchasing is what the former owner claims.”

“Thank you.”  Ana turned to Leo, “And thank you.”

“That’s ok.  It’s been nice doing business with you.  See you later.”

“Leo!”

“I’ve thought about it, Ana, and I’m not going to work with you on this.  That attack on the convoy makes it a certainty that there is someone inside your company’s inner circle that is trying to stop this new company from being created.  I have other things to do and can’t afford to be constantly looking over my shoulder.”

Ana called out to the bald man and he turned around and walked back to her, “Kenneth.”  He turned back to her.  “Put the additional funds from the excess Trillium in to this account.”  She handed him a slip of paper.  He lifted the clipboard and punched some numbers on it.  He handed her an electronic card and said, “Done.”

Ana turned to Leo and held the card out to him, “Take this.”

“What is it?”

“Fifty million credits in a blind account that no one in my company knows about.  Use it to bring John Blakely to justice.”  Leo’s eyes narrowed and Ana said, “You’ve proven yourself to me.  If you need more, contact me on this number and I’ll transfer more in to the account.”  She handed him a slip of paper.

“Ana, I really don’t think your life is worth much right now; if you can’t immediately find the one who used the pirates, you will be a target.”

“That’s why the inventor of the teleportation technology demanded that we purchase it from him this way and keep his identity a secret.  He figured out that he wouldn’t live long if he tried to develop the technology on his own.”

Leo stared at her, swore, and said, “You’re dead if I walk away.”  Ana’s eyes narrowed and she tilted her head.  Leo stared at her and then said, “What did you mean that Serge was your husband?”

“Actually, Serge wasn’t on the liner.  The man that was killed was a man cosmetically changed to look like him and he was my husband.  Serge is still alive and in hiding until this issue is cleared up.”

Leo chuckled, “And you have the authority to just hand over fifty million credits?”

Ana smiled, “I am his daughter.”  Leo blew out a breath shaking his head.  “What are you thinking?” Ana asked.

“I actually thought that Serge Romanov was quite the consummate idiot placing himself and his family in that much danger.  It appears I was wrong.  You should come with me until this mole is found.  I’ll try to keep you safe until they are uncovered.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Because I agree with you.”

“What do you agree with?”

“That Serge will let everyone around him die before he gives up this company or any of his wealth.  He could use you as bait and I suspect that is exactly what he’ll do.  However, you’re free to go and I honestly hope you do.  I don’t really want the aggravation.”

“I looked up what a Purple Card Warrior is.” Ana said as she stared into Leo’s eyes.

“And?”

“I think I’ll be safer with you.”

“Then let’s go.”  Leo turned and headed toward the blast doors.  Ana looked at Kenneth, “Tell whoever calls that I’ve gone to find out what’s going on.”

Kenneth nodded and said, “Did I hear you correctly that he is a Purple Card Warrior?”  Ana nodded.  “Tell him I have a job for him if he’s interested.”

“I’ll be sure to do that.”  She turned and ran after Leo.  She caught up with him and heard him talking into a device, “What are you doing?”

“I’m transferring the money out of the account you put it in.  I’m sending it to a remote computer that will move it into an account that I’m certain can’t be traced.”

“You don’t believe me about the account?”

“I believe you believe it.  But Kenneth, whatever his last name is, doesn’t work for you and he will answer questions from those higher up in your company.”

“No he won’t.”

Leo stopped and sighed as he rolled his eyes, “Ana, money talks.”

“Kenneth will not tell anyone!”

“You’re certain about that!?!”

“I am!”

“Then three days from now, you’re going to try and contact Kenneth and we’ll see if he answers.”

She stopped walking, “What are you saying?”

“He’ll talk or he’ll be eliminated.”  Ana’s face turned white.  Leo looked at the device he was holding and said, “You have a personal relationship with Kenneth?”

“I do!”

“Then you should contact him immediately and tell him that the money has been moved and that you have no idea where I sent it.  That should prevent his death.”

“Just how certain are you about this?”

“Ana!  Wake up!  Someone has enormous power to do all the things that’s been happening.  He will be picked up!  Whoever is pulling the strings will demand to know where that money is so they can track where you are.  His life isn’t really important in the scheme of their tracking you.”

Ana took her communication device out of her purse and pressed button.  Kenneth didn’t answer.  She looked at Leo with wide eyes and Leo said, “Send him an electronic message, now!  It might save his life!”

Ana immediately started texting on her communicator and two hours later, Kenneth contacted her.  “Thank you!”

“Are you alright?”

“I am now.  I was called out of the building after you left and someone shot a dope-dart into me.  I guess they saw your message and decided I was a waste of time.”

“Kenneth, you had to be called out the moment we left.”

“I was and the message came from you.  That’s why I left right behind you.  Ana, ditch that communicator and stay safe!”

Leo looked at her and took the device out of her hand.  He walked over to rail-transport waiting for passengers to board and tossed it inside a car before the door shut.  He pulled her away and ran to the front entrance of a market across the street.  They stood next to the front glass and saw three Romanov Security Vehicles come roaring up and stop the transport as six men rushed inside it.  Leo pulled her toward the back entrance of the market, “Time for us to go!”

Ana was pulled away by the arm as she stared at the Security Officer in charge of the team.  It was Serge’s Chief of Operations, she had always called him Uncle Jeff.  Leo saw her expression, “Do you know any of them?”

“The leader is Serge’s Security Chief.”

Leo’s eyes narrowed as he led Ana out of the building and into another entrance across the alley.  “Where are we going?”

“Somewhere you won’t be recognized.  Just stay close and hump your back a little.”

“What?”

“Lower your head slightly and pull your shoulders slightly forward.”

“Why?”

“Because there are devices that can be programmed to find you in a crowd.  You have to change your normal posture and walk differently.”

“How should I walk?”

“Just lower your head slightly and pull your shoulders forward; your walk will change if you do it.”  Ana followed his instructions and discovered he was right.  She felt the change in the way she normally walked.  He moved through the city stopping occasionally to sit down and observe everything around them.  He opened his backpack and pulled out two soft pieces of silicon shaped like half of a ball.  He handed them to her, “Put one of these on the inside of your cheeks.”

“What are they?”

“They’ll mold to your jawline and make your face appear fuller.”

“Don’t you mean fatter than it already is?”

“I prefer fuller.”

“Why are you doing this?  I thought you were turning me down?”

“I was but you removed one of the requirements you stipulated and I felt compelled to at least make sure you’re safe.”

Ana’s head moved slightly back, “What stipulation?”

“That you had to be present when I captured John Blakely.  I have no intention of capturing him and trying to do so would only make the task more difficult.  You gave me the funds without any preconditions so I feel obligated to at least make sure you aren’t killed.”

“Why would I be killed?”

“Someone went to a whole lot of trouble to prevent the Trillium from being delivered and you stepped in and got in their way.  I suspect that individual is very unhappy with you at the moment.”

“I can’t understand why Serge’s Chief of Security would be working with them, whoever they are?”

“He’s not.”

Ana’s eyes opened wide, “What do you mean?  I saw him leading that security team and Kenneth was kidnapped right after I left the Treasury.”

“The two events are not related.  Whoever kidnapped Kenneth is working for the Spider inside your family’s organization weaving this web you’re caught in but the Security Chief is not part of that conspiracy.”

“And just how do you know this?”

Leo sighed heavily, “Ana, he showed up in a marked Romanov Security Vehicle.  Do you honestly think he would do that if he were intending to do you harm?  The Security Agents went in the transportation-car with no weapons in their hands.  They were searching for you to take you to your family.”

“Then why didn’t you allow them to do it instead of running from them?”

“If you had looked up the street a block to the north, you would have seen a man standing next to a black vehicle with the back door open.  I suspect he had a shoulder missile launcher inside and was prepared to hit the security vehicle if he saw you taken by them.”

Ana looked down and thought about the moment and shook her head, “I didn’t look up the street; I was focused on the security car.”

“I think the security team and that car showed up at the same moment and both of them were tracking your communicator.  That car wasn’t there when I tossed it in the train.  It drove up and parked as the security team arrived.  Allowing you to go with him would have gotten you both killed.”

“Those security vehicles are heavily armored.”

“As were the Round Table Forces taking what they thought were the contents of the wall safe to the Unity Treasury.  Those missiles are the highest tech weapons currently being used by the Unity’s military.”  Ana stared at him and he smiled, “I notice you aren’t asking how they could be using them?”

Ana sighed, “My family’s company builds them and sells them around the galaxy.”  Leo nodded.  “So you’re of the opinion that someone in Romanov Industries wants me dead.”

“I am.”

“Why?”

“They must think that you are much more than you appear.  You had the code to the safe and the Spider was unaware of that and had to be surprised when the safe was opened.  You changed the plan of how the Trillium would be delivered and then disappeared.  They might be concerned that you may know who they are…or it could be something else entirely.  However, that car tells me that someone wants you dead.”

“How can you be sure there was a missile launcher inside of it?”

“The man standing beside the open door had a trigger ring on his right hand.”

“And you saw it from more than a block away?!”

Leo shrugged, “He had his hand on top of the vehicle and I could see it.”  Ana stared at him as he smiled, “I do have rather good eye-sight.”

“Whoever is doing this must know that I am now with you.”

“They know you’re with someone but they have no idea who it is.”

“Why is that?”

“Because my image is not in any database.”

“Then how did the Proctors determine you were a Purple Card Warrior?”

“An electronic transponder is embedded in the card that warns anyone who attempts to scan me that they will be prosecuted if they continue their efforts.”

“If someone is looking for a Purple Card Bearer, it could become a liability.”

“I only have it activated when I’m on public transportation where there are no avenues to escape.  It’s not active now.”

“What did you do to be given a Purple Card?”

“I’d rather not say.” Leonidas said quickly.

Ana sighed, “Ok.  I guess I should be thankful and leave it at that.”

Leo looked around and said, “You mentioned earlier that you investigated what a Purple Card meant.”

“I did?”

“How did you find out anything about it?  That information is highly secret.”

“My family’s computer has many things in its database that are highly secret.  It revealed that there can only be ten active Purple Cards in the galaxy at any given moment.  The ones authorized to carry a card are chosen by the Regulatory Agency on Cruet and undergo the strictest scrutiny of any government employee.”

“I am not a government employee!”

“Well, you are an agent of the government.”

“Not really,” Leo responded shaking his head.

“Then they control your actions!”

Leo sighed, “No, they do not.”

“Then who do you work for?”

“Myself.”

Ana stared at him and said, “Yourself?”  Leo nodded.  “Then why did they scrutinize you in order to give you a Purple Card?”

“The Government realizes that sometimes there needs to be someone that will do necessary things that are outside the law.  However, they are not going to give a blank check to anyone without knowing all there is to know about them first.”

Ana frowned, “Are you telling me that you are not bound to follow the laws made by the government?”

“I’m only bound to follow my conscience.  The Card tells anyone that might attempt to arrest me for my actions that I cannot be placed under arrest and that any attempt to do so will lead to prosecution by the Unity Government.”

“So you could just kill me right here on this bench and nothing would be done to you?”  Leo shrugged.  Ana shook her head, “I don’t understand why anyone would be given that much independence?”

“Because there are those operating outside the law that are inadvertently protected by it.  They must be removed by someone who is also outside the law,” Leo Answered.

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“John Blakely’s fleet is at Tortuga.  On that planet, the pirates are protected as productive citizens.  You will be the criminal if you kill him there.”

“They will also kill you if you go there and try to do it.”

“Tortuga is bound by the Galactic Unity Treaty.  They must recognize the rights of those that carry a Purple Card.  The Officials on Tortuga will not do anything to me.”

“So they can’t touch you?”

“They can try but I doubt the planetary authorities would even make the effort.  They know the Unity doesn’t like their sheltering pirates and they won’t do anything to cause the Unity to take action against them.   However, the pirates on the planet are not bound to follow the laws of the Unity and will take action if anyone attacks one of their own there.”

“Tortuga should be punished for their sanctuary.”

Leo shrugged, “The pirates are tax paying citizens and behave themselves on Tortuga.  Pretty much every planet has those that are hardcore criminals but use their planet to protect them in one way or another.”

“And you are the one to make them pay for their crimes?”

“Sometimes.  Most of the time, I’m forced to ignore them.”

“Why?”

“Look no further than your own company.  I believe more than two hundred Round Table Guards were just killed and someone in your company was behind it.  But if Romanov Industries was shut down, what impact would that have on the economy of Romania?”

“It would devastate the economy there and on more than a hundred other planets that manufacture our products.  Romanov Industries pretty much owns Romania.  More than eighty percent of the population works for it in one capacity or another.”

“That has to be figured in to anything to bring criminals to justice.”

“But the Government could just have the perpetrators brought to justice.”

“There are high priced lawyers that will make that process take longer than the perpetrator might live.  If the perpetrator is powerful enough, he will never be connected to the crimes being committed; he will insulate himself and it will be the underlings that are ultimately punished.”

“So you’re just a modern day vigilante?”

“No, vigilantes operate outside the system.  If they’re caught, they face the punishment for their crimes.  I operate within the system.”

“Why are there only ten of you allowed in the galaxy at any one time?’

“Actually, the most I’ve ever heard of being operational are six.  More than ten would be too large a risk to take.”

“What?”

Leo sighed, “Finding someone capable of handling the responsibility along with the requisite talents is not easily done.  Most are found when they’re arrested for breaking the law in a rather dramatic fashion.”

“Is that how you were found?”

Leo smiled, “Sort of.  However, that is not something I’m going to discuss.”

“You mentioned talents.  What do you mean by that?”

“Most Purple Cards Holders pay to be physically modified to some extent and can do things most other humans or aliens can’t.”  He suddenly stood up and looked to the north, “There is a drone moving our way and we need to get out of the open.”  Leo took her hand and pulled her up from the bench and quickly ran to the restaurant behind them.  He paused inside the front door as he pushed Ana behind him and looked up.  Ana looked over his shoulder and saw a drone come flying quickly down the middle of the street about a hundred feet above it.  It made no sound as it passed.

“How did you know that was coming?”

Leo looked at her with a smile, “Talent.”  He stepped outside and looked around. He turned south and Ana hustled to stay with him.  They arrived at a train station and Leo pulled her in the transport and paid the fare with tokens.  She looked at him with raised eyebrows and he shrugged, “Hey, it’s the best buy in transportation.  Tokens are half the price of normal fares.”  They rode the train for an hour and then transferred to another train going back the way they came.  “What are you doing?” Ana asked.

“The drone saw something and there were a number of agents moving into the area of town we were in.”  Ana’s fear was obvious and Leo shook his head, “I don’t think it saw us directly but it did see something of interest.  The area should be clear by now.”

“Are we just going to run around town?”

“No, we’ll be leaving within a few hours.  Just relax and try to see if you can come up with anyone that might want you dead.”

Ana sat back on the seat and sighed.  She tried to think of who it might be but came up empty.  She glanced at Leo and saw he was asleep.  Who was this man?

• • •

They arrived back at the station and Leo’s eyes opened immediately.  He took her hand and led her out into the street.  Ana looked at the restaurant where they had briefly hidden and saw a large group of Proctors gathered at the entrance.  Leo pulled her arm and she stumbled after him.  She looked ahead of them and felt a wave of fear.  A black vehicle was parked on the curb two blocks away from the restaurant and a man was standing outside the rear door.  Leo said over his shoulder, “Stay here and follow me in about thirty seconds.”  He released her hand, moved across the street from the black vehicle, and used parked vehicles to move around behind it.  He crouched low and moved toward the man standing outside the back door from the rear.  He walked up behind the man and appeared to just touch him on the shoulder and the man immediately collapsed as Leo shoved him into the back seat.  Leo’s left arm went inside the back seat as Ana started walking toward the vehicle.

Leo moved around the vehicle and opened the front passenger side door and reached across the front seat.  He grabbed the unconscious driver and snatched him out of the driver’s seat into the passenger’s seat and reclined it.  He looked at Ana, “Get in and drive.”

“Where?”

“Do a U-turn and head north.”

Ana got in the vehicle and saw a shoulder launcher in the back seat beside the unconscious man lying next to it.  She noticed the vehicle was idling as she sat down in the driver’s seat and she turned it around and headed away from the restaurant.  “I thought you said they didn’t detect us?”

Leo shrugged and slapped man in the back seat hard.  His eyes went open and Leo asked, “Who sent you here?”

“I don’t know.”

“Who gives you orders?”

“I don’t know?”

“How do you receive your orders?”

“The device in my coat pocket.”

“Take it out and show me.”

The man reached in his pocket and pulled out a small communicator.  Leo looked at it and said, “What is the countdown for?”

“I have to report in before it reaches zero.”

Leo looked at Ana, “Pull over!  Now!”

Ana pulled the car over to the curb and Leo said, “Move it up to the no parking space.”

“But that’s illegal!”

“Ana, pull up to the no parking space or someone who has nothing to do with this is going to get killed.” Leo said as he rolled his eyes.

Ana suddenly jerked the car forward and the man said to Leo, “She’s really not a very good driver, is she?”

“No, she’s not.  Close your eyes and go to sleep.”  The man’s eyes closed and Leo said urgently, “Ana, get out of the car and follow me!”

“What’s going on?”

Leo sighed as he jumped out of the car and moved quickly into the park.  Ana shook her head and jumped out of the car and ran to catch up.  They walked to a bench on the far side of the park and Leo sat down with a frown on his face.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Leo exhaled sharply and turned to her, “I’m really starting to question my decision to try and stop you from getting killed.”

Ana’s eyes widened, “Why is that?”

“Because you question everything I tell you to do and that will get you killed.”  Suddenly, a giant explosion erupted on the other side of the park and Ana jumped as she saw the black vehicle blown off the ground and into the edge of the park.  She looked at Leo as he said, “I saw on the man’s phone that there was a two minute countdown for him to report in.”  Leo nodded toward the now burning upside down vehicle, “If the countdown was at twenty seconds, you would have died in the blast asking your stupid idiotic questions instead of getting out and running!!  Either you agree to immediately do as you’re told or we part ways now!”

“I have nowhere I can go.”

“That would be the case even if I weren’t involved in this fiasco.  You would have died within twenty minutes of leaving the bank or right after the drone flew past us.  You don’t have the vision to see the dangers around you and it’s just a matter of time until you don’t react fast enough and then you’re dead!  I don’t intend to die with you.”

“That’s why you left the car without me?”

“It is and I’ll do what I need to do to survive in the future.  Your safest place is right next to me and if you ask one more question after I tell you what to do, I won’t wait for you and our relationship is over!”

“Why are you so upset about this?  What is it to you if I die?”

Leo took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before saying, “You gave me fifty million credits to go after the pirate that killed my brother and I feel an obligation to see that my benefactor isn’t killed right after the gift.  It would be bad form.”

“So all I am to you is a possible embarrassment?”

Leo stared into Ana’s eyes, “I don’t mean to sound callous but you haven’t shed many tears at the loss of your husband.  I’m not the only one showing no emotion.”

Ana stared at him and then lowered her eyes, “We were married because it would be an embarrassment if it came out that I was not traveling with my father but another man not related to me.  We were often booked in the same room during our trips and my father was concerned about what would be said if the news organizations found out about it.”

Leo stared at her and blinked, before saying, “And you were ok with that?”

“Well, the news is out that my father was supposedly killed by pirates and he’s already appeared on one news cast telling all of the company’s investors that it was someone else.  The questions about who it was will start now and that’s when my marriage will be revealed.”

“Did you love him?”

“I didn’t know him.  But he was a good man and played his role well.  He wasn’t charming but he did have a quick wit and sense of humor.  He also didn’t pressure me to do anything.  He still didn’t deserve to die.”

“He didn’t have to.”

Ana’s expression changed to anger, “And just why do you say that?”

“The contents of the wall safe could have been put in the liner and shipped without anyone having the code on board.  Someone could have met the liner on Kellinger and opened the safe there.  Your husband and the rest of you didn’t have to be there and I really suspect the code he was given was not the real one.”

“What?”

“You had the real code and your father made sure no one knew that except the two of you.  He didn’t trust that the twin would keep it secret.  He sent you, your husband, the fake wife, sister, and nephew along to see if someone would try to steal the contents.  Your presence made it certain that anyone planning a theft would never suspect your father wasn’t there.”

“Why in heaven’s name would he do that?”

“Because whoever was behind all this wanted to stop the delivery of the contents.  If none of you were present, the ship could have just been taken but that would have resulted in the contents being lost; no one is going to penetrate a Starliner’s wall safe.  That would have prevented the funds being delivered on time to purchase the teleportation company but the eight trillion would not have been lost.  By the appearance of your father being on the ship, there was an opportunity to stop the purchase as well as take possession of the Trillium.”

“But they could have still taken the liner and stopped the funds from being taken to the Treasury?” Ana replied.

Leo shook his head, “Did you not listen to Blakely?  He told his fellow pirate that if he attempted to tow the ship away, the Proctors would arrive before he could escape.”

“He could have blasted the ship and stopped it.”

“I suspect his orders did not take into account that your husband would commit suicide.  I think they also felt that your father would not die just to protect the investors.”

“YOU’RE WRONG!  HE WOULD NEVER CAUSE THE FAMILIES TO BE HARMED!!” Ana replied sharply.

“Ana, what is the value of Romanov Industries?”  Ana stared at Leo in silence.  “I looked it up on my communicator and the present estimate, as of nine am this morning, is a little over two hundred trillion.  Are you honestly going to sit here and tell me your father would die for eight trillion that wasn’t his own money?  The fact he sent your husband in his place tells me he suspected something was going to happen and he didn’t want to be anywhere near that liner when it did.”

“And sending me, my sister and her baby?”

“I suspect whoever is operating behind the scenes must know that your father has twins.  By sending the three of you, it removed doubt about his being present.  And that bit about your marrying the twin to prevent an embarrassment is also a bit of hogwash.”  Ana’s face grew angry but Leo continued, “How is he going to explain the woman that was killed is not his actual wife.  She couldn’t be your husband’s wife.  So your husband was sharing a room with two women and one of them was not family.  I suspect he wanted you married to someone he knew to prevent any other emotional attachments you might develop with someone he couldn’t trust.  By the way, did that woman look like your mother?  I don’t ever recall seeing her in any videos about your family.”

Ana’s expression changed as she thought about what Leo was asking.  Leo let her think about it and after five minutes she looked at him, “I’m nothing more than a tool to my father and evidently not a valuable one.”

“Don’t sell yourself too short, he did give you the code to open the safe.  However, you are right that he has no issues with putting you in situations that could get you killed.  What about your mother’s appearance?”

“Lyla did look like her.  Enough to pass for her anyway.”  Ana stared at Leo and saw him look away.  “There’s something you’re not telling me.”

“You may not like it.”

“Tell me!”

“You say that Lyla looks almost exactly like your mother.”  Ana nodded.  “I noticed on the liner that she has green eyes.  Does your mother also have green eyes?”

“She does.”

“Your father has blue eyes.”

“What?”

“He has blue eyes.  I’ve seen them on news recordings I pulled up.

“So?”

“Think it through, Ana.”  Leo watched her and waited.  Suddenly her eyes flew wide open and he said, “It is impossible for you to be his biological daughter and that is also true of your sister.  He really didn’t put members of his family in danger.”  Ana sat on the bench and felt her world come crashing down on her.  Her eyes as well as her sister’s eyes were brown which was genetically impossible for two parents with green or blue eyes.

Chapter Three

“Who is the man with her?” a computerized voice asked.

The agent looked at a dark monitor and replied, “Sir, we’ve been unable to find any information about him.”

“Look at the Liner’s passenger list!”

“That’s where we looked first.  We discovered that there were a hundred and eighty passengers on board but only a hundred and seventy nine names were on the manifest.  One of the passengers was not listed and it does appear that man is the one missing.”

“He had to provide identification to board the liner.  Go into the liner’s main computer and pull the information on that flight.”

“We did and came up empty.”

“How is that possible?”

“It actually isn’t.  The most regulated industry is the Starlines and there are no exceptions to the rules that govern them.  Even we couldn’t get someone on board a liner without providing proof of identity.”

“This man appears to have done it.”

“I’m forced to agree but my best people have no idea how he pulled it off,” the agent replied.

“Blakely tells me that a young man on board appeared to know a great deal about him.  Could that have been this man?”

The agent paused before saying, “Probably.  Unless Blakely took a recording of the passengers in the landing bay, we have no way of really knowing.”

“You know he wouldn’t do that.  I need Ana captured so she can tell me how she managed to make the switch.  She didn’t come up with that on her own.  Capture her, don’t kill her.”

“Well, there is a man with her and he may have been the one to come up with the plan.  However, that is pure speculation.  It could have been the plan from the beginning and we didn’t uncover it.”

“It wasn’t!”

The man shrugged, “Romanov can be…twisty.”

“I know what his plans were.  The switch wasn’t part of it!  There’s something else going on here that I don’t like.  The loss of two of your assassins also has me concerned.  Find Ana and bring her in.”

“What about the man?”

“Take him as well but I don’t want any risks taken doing that.  Kill him if you must.”

“Blakely is not happy about the switch.  He’s complaining about the expense of the first attack for no return.  He was not told that the real Serge Romanov wasn’t on board.   Increasing the pay for the attack on the convoy hasn’t satisfied him.”

“Tell him that nothing is certain and to shut-up.”

“He won’t take that well, Sir.”

“He needs to remember who is in charge.  Tell him I don’t want to be forced to demonstrate it to him.”

“I’ll pass it on.”

• • •

Ana’s tears were real and Leo hated to be the one that caused them.  “Leo, I remember being raised in the house on Cruet.  I remember my mother being there and my father coming to be with us whenever he could.  I remember my sister being born.”

“Do you?”  Ana looked at Leo as he shrugged, “You’re only fifteen months older than she is.  Do you really remember that?”

Ana sighed, “You’re right.  She’s in my earliest memories but I don’t remember seeing my mother pregnant.”

“How could you?  You weren’t two years old.”

Ana looked at Leo, “How long have you known this?”

“As soon as you told me that it wasn’t your father who was killed.”

“Did you determine then that I’m not his real daughter?”

“I determined that while sitting in first class on the flight to Kellinger after the attack.  I pulled up some images and recordings of your father and saw that he had blue eyes.  Everything else was simply a matter of elementary logic.  I’m surprised you never noticed it.”

“Easy for you to say.  I’ve never had a clue.”  Ana looked at him, “Why?  Why would he put me and my sister in that situation?”  Leo stared at her and Ana started crying, “Why?  Please tell me!”

Leo blew out a hard breath, “We need to move.”  Ana stood up and wiped her eyes with her sleeve.  Leo looked around and asked as they walked away from the bench, “Have you learned what it means to be really wealthy growing up?”  Ana looked up at him and nodded.  “I don’t just mean having more money than you can ever spend or the ability to purchase anything your desire.  I mean really, really wealthy.”

“I’m not sure what you mean?” Ana said as she wiped her eyes again.

“When anyone becomes accustomed to that level of wealth, they start worrying about keeping it.  They also lose the ability to feel anything for others and everyone they encounter simply wants to take some of their wealth from them.  You start seeing others as little more than scavengers, beggars, and thieves.”

“What does this have to do with me?”

“A really wealthy man knows what his greatest weakness is, Ana.  It’s been demonstrated for as long as there have been wealthy beings.  Do you know what it is?”

“I’m not thinking clearly at the moment.  Why don’t you just tell me?”

“Hostages, Ana.  A wealthy man’s family can be taken and held hostage forcing him to part with huge sums of his wealth to get them back safely and they could still be taken again by another kidnapper.  A man of unlimited wealth would actively plan something to prevent that from happening and the price wouldn’t really be an object.  It would never be as much as he’d have to pay to ransom his family members.”

Ana stared at the sidewalk as they walked and said, “He made it appear as if we are his children and even went to the point of purchasing two babies to make it appear real.”

“He also had to purchase the mansion for them to live in along with the tutors and staff to run the household and all the other trappings of wealth that would make it appear real.”

“What about my mother?”

“She’s not your mother!” Leo answered quickly.

“Are you certain about that?”

“Aside from the fact she has green eyes, if she were your real mother, she would never agree for you to be sent out into a dangerous situation where you might be killed.  Your father had to have someone to raise you that would not intervene in his using you anyway he chose.  He chose someone, who knew from the beginning that you were a tool to be used when needed.  And she would be paid well for giving up her normal life.  Remember, absolute wealth has no limits on how it can rule those around it.  It also indicates that Serge doesn’t currently have a wife.”

“So, I’m alone.”

“No, I really believe your sister is your real sister.”

“Why?”

“Because the two of you would have to have the same DNA. The doctors treating you as you grew up might see it and know you aren’t really related to Serge.  It wouldn’t take much for the doctor to see if the two of you didn’t have the same DNA.  I believe both of you were purchased together from one set of parents.”

Ana shook her head, “How are you able to see all of this?”

“It comes with training.  Now, I have a question for you.”

“What is that?”

“I am going to have to leave you soon.  Do you have access to any accounts that you could withdraw funds to assist you in hiding?”

“I have my own personal account.”

“How much is in it?”

“Half-a-billion credits.”

“WHAT?!”

Ana smiled, “You don’t surprise easily.  This is the second time I’ve startled you.”

“Why would you have a personal account with that much in it?” Leo asked shaking his head.

“The official reason is for taxes but the real reason is that it’s a slush fund for doing things outside official scrutiny.  My Unity income taxes are nothing compared to what Serge has to pay at his income level.  He uses me as a tax dodge.”

“I want to move those funds into another account that only you can access.  If you withdrew any funds from it now, I believe this Spider would be on you in a heartbeat.”

“So how are you going to do this?”

“Do you have the card you use to access it?”

“No, but I know the number.”

“Good enough.”  Leo stopped walking and sat down on bench under a tree.  Ana sat down beside him as Leo took his communicator out of his pocket, punched a button, waited a moment, and then said, “I need a blind, black transfer.”

“Do you require cards?”

Leo looked at Ana and she shrugged, “I suppose.”

“Yes, cards are needed and where will the final institution be located?” Leo asked.

“How much is being transferred?”

“Five hundred million credits.”

There was a long pause and then they heard, “The Government Bank on Cartis.”

Ana’s head went back and Leo asked, “Why did you choose that one?  It’s located in another galaxy.”

“Because the politicians there transfer those level of funds pretty much every day and the funds will be available to the master account I set up in this galaxy.  The bank employees on Cartis know not to question them, so the transfer could be done and go unnoticed.”

“Are you certain you can make this transfer without being caught?”

“Who would be looking for it?”

“Romanov Industries.”

“Are these funds being stolen?”

“No, they are not.  The one making the transfer is the name on the account.”

“That makes it easier.  It will require a spread to prevent discovery.  LEO, this is going to cost you.”

“How much?”

“Two million is my fee and I need an additional two million to go into the scarecrow account.”

Leo looked at Ana and she nodded, “Done.”

“What is the account number?”  Leo put the communicator in front of Ana’s mouth and she began reciting the account number.  “Got it.  Give me a moment.”  A minute passed and Leo’s communicator beeped.  A white card began emerging from the slot at the bottom of the communicator and then another card began emerging.  He put his backpack on the bench and allowed the two cards to fall on it.  The voice said, “The funds will not be available for two weeks; then the cards will activate and you’ll have access to them.  I’ll start the funds transfer now.”

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Leo looked at Ana, “Pick up the first card and hold it with your thumb in the center of the dull white side.”

“What does that do?”

“It sends the account number through your nervous system to your brain’s storage center.  It will imprint the number where you won’t forget it.”  Ana lifted the card and did as he instructed.  Her eyes went wide and she smiled.  Leo said, “Now do the second card.”

“No!”

“Ana, you may need to give the card to someone to withdraw funds for you.”

“If that needs to happen, I’ll give them this card.  I want you to take the second card.”

“Ana, I can’t do that.”

“Leo, there is a stipulation.”  Leo stared at her.  “If something happens to me, I want you to find out who did it and kill them.  I also want you to make sure my sister and her son are taken care of.  I can’t do it now without being caught; I’m sure she’s being watched closely.  If I die, then these funds die with me.  I need someone to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“Why would you want me to do this, Ana?”

“Who else can I trust?  I at least know you’ll keep your promise if you accept the card.”  Leo stared at her and Ana said, “Take the card, Leo, please.”  Leo sighed and picked up the card.  He pressed his thumb into it and saw the account number in his mind.

His communicator beeped and he looked at the display, “Yes?”

“Uhhhh…do you want all of the funds in the account transferred?”

“How much in in there?”

“Eight-trillion-five hundred-million.”

Ana’s head went back as Leo said, “Do you honestly think you can make that large of a transfer and not get caught?”

“I look at this as a challenge, Leo, and you know how much I love a challenge.  What I’ll do is transfer the funds in half-billion blocks into blind investment accounts tied to the stock computer on Cartis.  I’ll make all of them operate through the account number on the master account card you just received.”

“How will those accounts go unnoticed?”

“They’ll have a Cartis address and the stock market knows that funds larger than that are routinely set up.  You’ll have access to them but there will be a slight delay while stocks are sold.  There will be the usual taxes taken out but the accounts should go pretty much unnoticed.”

“And what happens if they are noticed?”

“The Stock Market Manager will not willingly give up information and especially if he thinks the accounts were established by someone in the government on Cartis.  A Government Decree will be required for him to release any information and I’m pretty certain that no politician on Cartis will approve any investigation concerning blind accounts.  Most all of them have established blind accounts and will not want an investigation into them.”

“Why haven’t you done this before?”

“Leo, you don’t use your best hole card unless the reward is worth it.”

“Take a hundred million for yourself,” Leo said.  “I suspect you’re going to have to disappear.”

“Thanks, LEO.  I was only going to charge an additional ten million.”

“Reggie, I’m serious; I’d take the money and run if I were you.”

“You don’t need to worry about that.  I have one button to push and then I’m headed across the universe.  I hope you don’t need my services in the future.”

“I suspect I won’t but there is one thing I need you to do before you fly.”

“What is that?”

Leo turned his communicator toward Ana and snapped an image.  “Do you remember the list I gave you?”

“I do.”

“Send me some identity documents and use the fourth one on the list.”

“Will do.  You’ll receive them within twelve hours.  I’ll send them on the run.”

“Thanks, Reggie.  Contact me if you need me.”

“Let us pray that won’t happen.”

• • •

Leo ended the contact and Ana said, “The eight trillion that was paid for the teleportation company was put in my account.”  She looked at Leo, “What does that mean?”

“It means your father was the owner of the company from the beginning and set up the sale to pay himself.  If this teleportation device actually works, then it was developed by one of your father’s scientists.  He went out and convinced investors to buy into it and then paid himself, which, by the way, is highly illegal.”

“What do you think is going to happen once the funds are taken out of the account?”

“Well, currently, you have the Spider operating inside your father’s company trying to find you.  I suspect your father will be joining in that effort shortly.”

Ana sighed and shook her head as she stared at the ground, “What chance do I have of avoiding their finding me?  The resources my father has to find me defies belief.”

“We’re about to give you some tools to help make that happen.  Come with me.”  Leo stood up and Ana followed him a few blocks to a Rent-A-Room hotel.  He paid for a room in cash and took the key around the side of the building where Ana was waiting for him.  He unlocked the door and looked around before calling her over from the shrubbery.  She went in and Leo said, “I need you to go into the bathroom and fill up the tub with warm water.”  Ana started to ask a question but caught herself.  She went to the bathroom and Leo put his back pack on the bed and pulled out a clear credit card sized package.  He went into the bathroom and said, “Get in the tub.”

“With my clothes on?!”

“No, take everything off.”

“Leo!”

“Ana, I respect your modesty but I have to be here to make this happen.  I promise not to look too hard.”

Ana rolled her eyes and did as she was directed.  She had kept her back to him with one arm over her breasts and the other covering her legs as she stepped into the tub and laid down in it.  Leo knelt beside the tub and pulled the seal off the clear package.  “Now listen carefully.  First, take the two molds out of your cheeks.”  Ana reached into her mouth with her fingers, pulled them out, and handed them to Leo.  “I’m going to empty the contents of this package into the water and I’m going to need you to submerge yourself completely.  While you’re submerged, I need you to take some of the liquid into your mouth and open and close your eyes.”

“Leo?”

“It won’t cause you any pain.  However, the water will appear to be a form of a liquid plastic substance as soon as I empty this packet into the tub. You need to do this quickly before it degrades and falls apart.  Are you ready?”  Ana blew out a hard breath, inhaled deeply, and nodded.  Leo emptied the contents of the package into the water and said, “NOW, ANA!”

Ana fell back in the tub and was completely submerged.  Leo was thankful her hair was tied in a ponytail and all of it went below the water.  After ten seconds, Leo grabbed a brush and tapped her on the head.  She came up out of the water and sprayed the silver liquid out of her mouth.  Leo had stepped back from the tub and none of the liquid touched him.  “That stuff tastes terrible!!”

“But it wasn’t painful.”  The water had changed to look like a liquid silver metal and then it began changing back into water.  Leo kept his back turned as he said, “Stand there and let the liquid change before you take a towel to dry off.”

“What is this?”

“I’ll tell you once you dry off.  I’m stepping out to give you some privacy.”

Ten minutes later, Ana stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her and stepped into the motel room.  Leo looked at her and smiled, “Good, the changes are starting?”

Ana’s eyes narrowed, “CHANGES?!”

“I’ve changed your surface DNA.”

“You’ve what!?”

“You do remember the drone that flew past us?”  Ana nodded.  “Today, searchers don’t need to recognize anyone they’re looking to find.  You simply run a DNA scan of the people where you think your target might be located and it will immediately let you know if they’re present.  If you can afford it, you can use satellites to search an entire planet to find who you’re searching for.  The only way to make you safe from a DNA scan is to change your appearance as well as the DNA your stalkers will see in a scan.  That bath you just took changed your surface DNA.”

“TO WHAT?!”

“Calm down, you knew you were going to have to change your appearance didn’t you?”

“Well…I just thought I’d have to color my hair or wear contacts or use those cheek balls…”

Leo interrupted her “All of those things won’t work against a DNA scan and Serge Romanov can afford to use satellite DNA scanners to find you if he knows the planet you’re on.”  They heard a noise and Leo said, “Ah, they’re here.”  He lifted his communicator and two cards came falling out of the printer.  He looked at them, smiled, and handed them to Ana.

Ana looked at the Unity ID card and said, “This woman is a blonde with green eyes!”  Leo shrugged.  Ana turned and rushed into the bath room and looked in the mirror.  Her hair was blonde from the roots to half the length of the shafts.  She leaned forward and saw most of the brown was gone from her eyes and was replaced by green.  She went back into the bedroom and looked at Leo with an angry expression, “You could have asked me about this before you did it!”

“You’d have refused and soon you would be dead.  You father has now had time to pay for the satellites to start scanning for you and if you went outside, you’d be found.  This is the only way to keep you alive.”

“You could have persuaded me.  You didn’t have to change me…”

“Without asking you?  I know, but you’d have still said no.  No one is willing to give up how they see themselves.  The point is, this way you can assume this new identity and take a ship away from here and be safe until I can find out who is trying to kill you.”

“Have you done this before?”

“I haven’t been in a situation that called for it.  However, I wouldn’t hesitate to do it if someone nasty gets a scan of my DNA.”

Ana looked down at her chest and her eyes narrowed, “My breasts are larger.”

“And your face and body are a little thinner.”

“Just who is this person I’m changing into?”

“You wouldn’t know her.”

“WHO IS SHE!?”

“Calm down.  She’s a good cover for you.  Her name was Victoria Lenora De La Pascal.”

“What do you mean was?”

Victoria owned her own luxury starship and was quite wealthy.  She lost a very rich older husband to incurable cancer and inherited all of his wealth.  She would travel from planet to planet enjoying the high life of the rich and famous and didn’t really ever go back to her home world.  She told everyone that it reminded her of her former husband, whom she missed terribly.  The truth was that her husband’s family challenged the will but could do nothing without her being present to file the case.  So she pretty much became a traveling gypsy enjoying her wealth and having a good time.”  Leo paused, “Unfortunately, she had the misfortune of traveling through a star system that went supernova as she approached it on a filament.  She died and there was no trace of her disappearance.”

“How did you know about this?  And where did you get the technology to do this?!  We’d know about this if it was out there!”

“I didn’t know about it.  I was sold the information by an Insectoid who had a real crush on Victoria.  He pretty much stalked her wherever she went but to my knowledge never approached her.  He collected a sample of her DNA and was thinking about cloning her but after her death, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.”

“The Insectoids don’t interact with anyone outside their species.  They’re great scientists but are antisocial,” Ana said severely.

“I know.  But this one was different.  I collected Victoria’s DNA along with the bath packet and paid a high sum for it and twenty others.  I don’t know if it was really in love with her but he had more than fifty DNA samples of humans that died without being reported.  Victoria’s DNA is perfect for you.”

“Why?”

“Because you can go to Luminus, purchase a luxury starship, and hire a crew to fly it for you.  You can take Victoria’s place and go wherever you want until this little problem resolves itself.  You should go to the other side of the known universe for a time to avoid any chance encounters that might blow your cover.”

“How would I blow my cover?”

“You go and visit your sister or someone else close to you.  I’m reasonably certain anyone that comes near your sister will probably be taken and a full body exam will be conducted.”  Ana opened her mouth and Leo quickly said, “You must avoid communicating with your sister!”

“Why?!  She’s my only family!”

Leo sighed, “Ana, do you think your father would hesitate to use her as a hostage to bring you back in?”  Ana stared at him in silence.  “If you attempt to contact her, your father will intercept the conversation and tell you that she will die along with her baby unless you immediately come back.”

“He could do that anyway.”

“No he couldn’t.”

“Of course he could!”

“Ana, in order for his threat to work, you have to know about it.  Either from his mouth or by a sent message that he knows you’ve received.  If he doesn’t know for certain you’ve heard it, he won’t waste the only thing he has to get you back.  Your sister is safer now than before you came with me.  Think about this, Ana, and you’ll see I’m right.  I suspect she’s screaming at Serge at this very moment demanding to know where you are.  He’ll see her emotions are real and know she has not spoken with you.  He will be prepared to intercept any communication you make to her and issue his threat immediately before you could end the contact.”

“I don’t want her to worry and suffer over me, Leo.”

“It’s that suffering and worrying that will keep her alive, Ana.”

Ana took the card and went back into the bathroom.  She looked at the card and then into the mirror.  She looked several more times and then walked out of the bathroom, “This Victoria was nice on the eyes.”

Leo smiled, “She usually got what she wanted from admirers.”

“Did you ever meet her?”

“I did.  And it was my conversations with her that caused the Insectoid to speak to me after she died.”

“I know I’m asking a lot of questions but why would it speak to you?”

“Because it knew I was carrying a Purple Card and hoped that one day I’d bring Victoria back to life.  You don’t hide things from an Insectoid.  It found me after her death and offered her DNA at no charge.  I guess it must have had sincere feelings for Victoria.  I developed a relationship with him and I’ve used him numerous times since.”

“Who trained you to see everything?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Was it this Insectoid?”

“It was.”

“Well, I want you to contact him and tell him I’ll pay him to be trained.”  Leo’s eyes narrowed.  “Don’t get sanctimonious on me, Leo.  If I’m going to have to go away for a time, as you say, I am going to use the time to learn how to survive in a universe filled with Spiders!”

“I don’t know if he’d agree to do it.”

“Leave that up to me.  I want to know how to contact him.”

Leo sighed, “I’ll give you his contact code once we get you a new communicator.”

“Where are we going to get that?”

“On Luminus.  Two ships are cheaper than one.”

“You don’t have a ship?”

“No, I was forced to abandon it.”

“Pray tell what caused you to do that?”

“Fifty blasters blowing it apart in orbit.”

“How did you escape that?”

“I wasn’t on it at the time.  However, my brother was.”

“Better buy a better ship!”

“I can now afford to do so.”

“I’ll pay for both as long as you give me the contact code.”

Leo rolled his eyes and then started shaking his head, “I had to undergo a lot of changes physically in order to have some of the talents I possess, Ana.  I can tell you that it was extremely painful to do it.  Are you willing to suffer through being trained?”

Ana’s eyebrows came together, “More than you know!”

“I’m booking us on a Starliner to Luminus tonight and we’ll be leaving in six hours.  In the meantime, you and I are going shopping.”

“Shopping?”

“Victoria would never go out looking like this.  We have some work to do.”

“What kind of work?”

“I know you’re basically a modest person but you’re going to have to get over that quickly.  Victoria was proud of her appearance and didn’t mind revealing it.”

“I don’t know if I…”

“You can and you will!  Just play the role of Victoria and you can deal with it.  It’ll get easier over time.  Just remember three things; smile, flirt, and laugh.  Let’s go shopping.  For the next two weeks, we’re going to have to use my bank-card until yours is active.  Just look at me with a smile and say, ‘Jerry, please handle this.’”

“Jerry?”

“He was one of Victoria’s servants.”

“Oh geeeezzz.  Lead the way.”

Chapter Four

Leo sat in the rear of first class and watched the men seated around Ana making a fool of themselves.  The one-piece black and gold body suit she was wearing was quite revealing, especially at the plunging neck line.  Ana nearly called the whole thing off when they went shopping until she noticed several men stop in the store and gawk at her.  She looked at one of them and said sternly, “Is something the matter?”

The man stammered, “N…no!  You are incredibly beautiful.  I was wondering if you might share a dinner with me tonight.”

Ana was shocked at the statement and pulled it off like a champ.  She walked over to him and leaned against his arm as she smiled, coyly, “I’m sorry.  I’m flying out in a few hours.”  She batted her eyes teasing, “Maybe another time?”

The man nearly broke his arm pulling a business card out of his pouch and hand it to her, “Please, call me!”

“You know I will.”  The man walked off and she glanced at Leo.  He smiled and she went back to the sales woman and continued purchasing expensive clothes.  She even asked that several items she had rejected earlier be brought back out.  He wondered at the sudden change and wished he knew what was going on in her mind.  She was…different. 

He sat back and looked out of the viewport at the twenty mile wide filament the Starliner was traveling.  No one really understood why the filaments existed.  Every star had at least one filament that connected it to another star.  One side of the filament moved away from the star and the other side moved toward it.  The speed of every filament varied but all of them moved at superlight speeds.  The invention of the stardrive field, which allowed ships to leave normal space and go into, what scientists called, Under Space, revealed them and the universe discovered a way to travel to distant stars and civilizations.  He looked at Ana and knew trouble lay ahead in her future.  He turned back to the viewport.  Luminus was six hours away.

• • •

They arrived on Luminus and after three days, she turned to him, “I should have given you more funds initially.  We can’t afford the really good ships.”

“Fifty million credits just aren’t what they used to be.  However, I don’t intend to buy a new ship; I’m looking for an old vessel that I can have modified.”

“Why do you want an old ship?”

“I’m going after a Pirate and a new ship would only cause suspicions on Tortuga.”

“Should I purchase a used ship?”

“No!  Victoria wouldn’t be caught dead in an old ship.  Let’s do this.  I’ll find an old ship and we’ll purchase it and stay on board until your cards activate.  I’ll take what remains in my account and use it as a down payment to get them started building your new ship now.  By the time it’s done, your account will be active and we’ll transfer some funds back into my account.”

“I don’t want you to empty your account; you might need it.”

“I don’t think that will be a problem for the short time that remains.”

Ana stared at him for a moment, batted her eyes, and leaned against him, “Oh, Darlin, just use my card in the future and don’t touch your account.  I don’t think you can make a dent in my savings.”  She batted her eyes again.

Leo laughed, “Your card it is.  I won’t abuse it.”

“Abuse it?  Do whatever you need to do to keep us safe.”

Leo looked at her for a long moment and then said, “Thank you.”

Ana smiled, “This is a good deal for both of us, honey.”

• • •

The next eleven days passed uneventfully and Ana asked Leo the day before her accounts activated, “What sort of modifications are you going to make on your ship?”

“I’m going to arm it.”

“Arm it?”

“I’m going to make it as powerful as a main Unity Battleship.  I do intend to hide some of the weapons under the ship’s hull so they won’t be seen.  They will actually cost more than the ship to install.”

Ana thought for a minute and said, “What about arming the ship I’m purchasing.”

“Your crew might be overly curious about that.”

“That’s another question I have, Leo.  Just how am I going to go about selecting those to crew my ship?  If any of them learn that Serge Romanov is looking for me and they get suspicious, they might tell him where I am to receive a reward.”

Leo stared at her and leaned back in the ship’s command chair, “I haven’t really thought about arming your ship.  I thought you’d just go out and enjoy yourself until things cooled off.  You’re getting pretty good at playing the role of Victoria, so I doubt you’d raise any suspicions.”

“Leo, you know who I’m up against here.  If there’s a way for me to be found, Serge can do it.  I don’t want to be defenseless if that happens and I’ll need a crew to help me escape, not turn me in.”

Leo nodded slowly, “You’re right.  You can follow me to where I’m having the mods done and I’ll contact some friends and see it they’re interested in signing on as your ship’s crew.  I suspect if you pay them right, they’ll do it.”

“Can they be trusted?”

Leo smiled, “I’d give my life to defend any of them and I know they’d do the same.”

“But I’m not you.”

“If I ask them to make sure no harm comes to you, it would be just like defending me.  But you have to make it worth their while.”

“How much?”

“Let me ask them.”

“Would it be possible for me to be there when you do?”

Leo stared at her for a long moment and lifted a shoulder, “You can be present.  I’m paying for their transportation to the site where the mods are going to be done.  We’ll meet them there.”

“How am I going to follow you without a crew to fly my ship?”

“Your ship will have an auto-pilot.  It will automatically follow my ship without a crew on board.”

Ana smiled, “Really.”

“You ship is going to be the most modern up-to-date pleasure yacht in this galaxy.  It will have all the latest conveniences and electronic gadgets available.  I’ll also make sure it will be able to defend itself in a fight.”

“This is exciting.”

Leo shrugged, “You haven’t met the Insectoid, yet.  Wait until after that happens.”

“Could you invite him to come to meet with us as well?”

Leo sighed and tilted his head, “I guess he’ll come.  I never know with him.”

“Tell him Victoria is back and she desperately wants to meet him.”

Leo chuckled, “That may do it.”  Ana smiled and then burst out laughing.

• • •

The next day, the purchase price for Ana’s ship was done and she asked him in a moment of privacy, “Why do I need a ship that big?  It cost twelve billion credits.”

“If the Insectoid agrees to join you, he is going to need a lot of space.  That rear room will be needed if he does.”

“Why?”

“He will need the space to put some items in to start your training.”  Ana stared at him and Leo added, “You also need a ship with a big enough hull to hide all the blasters and missile ports I hope to have installed.  You can’t have any visible on the ship’s hull and pull off being a pleasure yacht.”

“Oh, ok.”  Leo knew she was missing what was coming but she’d find out soon enough.  The ship he chose for her was being built on the frame of an Insectoid Battle Cruiser that was salvaged after their battle with the Unity.  It might come down to him needing it later to help him get out of trouble.  He also hoped that he would benefit from the Insectoid’s interest in Ana.

• • •

“Are we going to the planet where you’re going to have the modifications done?”

“Not yet, Ana.  I’m meeting the boys at another planet first.”

“Why?”

“They might not sign on and I don’t want to reveal what we’re doing if they don’t.”

“Oh.  Ok.”

They arrived above a planet in the Proxima Sector of the galaxy and took an old shuttle out of Leo’s ship’s landing bay.  They landed at the spaceport twenty minutes later and rented a bus.  “Where are we going, Leo?”

“The boys arrived earlier this morning; they’re waiting for us at a local establishment.”  Ana nodded and stared out of the windshield; this part of the city they were moving into didn’t look like a high rent section.  Matter of fact, it didn’t look good enough to be low rent either.  Leo parked the bus in front of a large tavern and handed a fifty credit note to the bouncer at the door, “Can you insure it won’t be damaged?”  The huge bouncer took the note and smiled.  Leo looked at Ana and said, “Stay close.”  He didn’t have to worry.  She grabbed his arm and held on tightly.  This was a rough part of the city.

They walked through the door and immediately heard loud laughter and loud voices in the rear of the establishment.  Leo smiled, “They’re here.”  He threaded his way through the crowd and many of the customers stared at Ana but didn’t try anything with Leonidas escorting her.  As he approached the table one of the men saw him and jumped up out of his chair, “LEONADIS!!”  The others at the table jumped up as well, ran over to him, and began pounding him on the back and hugging him.  Leo smiled and returned their affection as two chairs were pulled over to the table where they could join the loud group.  Leo looked at a waitress and said, “Bring a round for everyone and put it on my tab.”

“I’m sorry, sir.  But you have to pay in advance,” the waitress said while staring at Ana.

Leo pulled out a thousand credit note and handed it to the waitress, “Let me know if you need more.”  The waitress’ eyes went wide and she began taking orders.  Leo sat down and the thirty-six gathered at the table began updating Leo on everything that had happened since they last saw him.  Ana listened in silence and noticed all of them looked at her when they thought she wasn’t looking but none of them questioned Leo about her.  It didn’t take long to see that Leo was right; the people at the table had deep feelings for him and were very closed mouthed.

One of the men went back to his chair and bumped into a giant of a man walking behind him, which caused him to spill his drink.  He cursed out loud and Leo immediately jumped up and said to the huge man, “I’m so sorry.  This is entirely our fault.  Please allow me to buy you and those at your table a round to replace your drink.”  Leo grabbed his waitresses’ arm and said, “Please, take this man and his friends as many drinks as they want and put it on my tab.”

The giant looked at Leo and smiled, “Thank you very much.  We appreciate your generosity.”  Leo patted him on the back as he walked back to his table.

Leo sat down and one of the men said, “Sir, why have you called us here?”

Leo looked around the table and said, “Before I get into that, are any of you unable to take an assignment that might take a few years to complete?”

The men all looked around at each other and Glenny said, “I’ve just started a new job that took a year to get.”

Leo nodded, “Are any of you married and have families?”

The man who spoke first said, “All of those that do weren’t able to answer the call, Sir.”

Leo smiled, “I thought that might be the case, Jack.  I notice that Russel, Nick, TR, and Elizabeth aren’t here.”

“They told me to let them know if you are in danger and they’d saddle up immediately.”

Suddenly the huge man appeared behind Leo and said, “Jack?  Is that you?”

Jack looked at the man and his eyebrows came together, “Do I know you?”

The man laughed, “You knew me before I grew this beard and long hair.  I’m Barney Baker.”

Jack’s eyes went wide, “Barney!  You old dog, what are you doing in this run down town?”

Barney shrugged, “You know how it is, when they disbanded the unit; we ended up stuck here.”

Jack looked around the table, “Hey everybody, we served with Captain Baker on the Regulus Campaign!”  Jack looked at Barney, “Hey Barn, this is my former CO, Leonidas.”

Barney turned to Leo and his eyes were wide, “Not the Leonidas?”

Jack smiled, “The one and only!”

Barney started shaking his head and stuck out his hand, “Sir, it should be me that is buying you drinks.  What you did to save the platoon on Regulus was incredible.”

Leo smiled as he shook Barney’s hand, “Thank you, what unit were you in?”

“I and the lads at my table were in Third Special Forces.”

Leo tilted his head, “You were the ones that took out the major artillery units on the front of The Mountain.”

Barney smiled, “That was us, Sir.  But it was your unit that got us out alive.  We were pinned down and outnumbered when you gave us cover to escape.”

“Captain, it looks like you’ve run into bad times,” Leo said as he looked at the men dressed in old clothes sitting at Barney’s table.

Barney shrugged, “You know how it is, Sir.  The Unity disbanded all of the mercenary units once they took control of the sector.  We were taking R and R here as a reward for the battle and our ship just left us.  This planet wasn’t this bad off before the Unity took control.”

Leo looked at Barney’s table and saw the other seven men were watching them.  “Why don’t you invite your table to join us?”

Barney’s eyes went wide and he waved the others over, “Come on over; this is Leonidas!”

Ana leaned in and whispered, “Do you trust them?”

“I know who they are and they didn’t fold when everyone else was giving up and running away.  It was their taking The Mountain that gave us the victory.  They have the hearts of a warrior.”  Ana sat back and wondered just who Leo was.  She didn’t know he had served in the military.

Leo waited as many of the former soldiers recognized each other and introduced the others.  All of the seven Special Forces warriors came over and shook Leo’s hand thanking him for saving their lives.  After an hour, Leo said, “I have one more guest I’ve invited to be here and he should arrive in exactly twelve minutes.”

Jack looked at Leo, “How can you be that accurate?”

“Insectoids are always exactly on time.”  The entire table went silent.  Leo looked at them, “I want all of you to understand that he is a friend of mine and I expect you to treat him with the same courtesy you show me and each other.”

Barney said, “I’ve never actually seen an Insectoid but the rumors about them are scary.  I hear they’re incredibly ugly.  They are not a part of the Unity and I understand the Unity does not fool around with them.”

The only woman in the group said, “Can’t be as ugly as some of you.”  She looked at Leo, “We’ll treat him properly, Sir.”

Ana looked at the woman and saw she was quite pretty; short black hair and brilliant blue eyes.  She felt a twinge of jealousy and wondered why.  She saw that the woman kept her eyes on Leonidas and ignored her.

Leo turned to Barney, “I’m here to recruit some warriors for a one to two year assignment.  Would any of your group be interested?”

Barney looked at Leo and said, “Will it get us off this cesspool planet?”

“It will.”

“Then count us in.”

Leo smiled, “I think it will do better than that, Barney.”  Leo looked around the table, “I need to know now if any of you can’t or won’t want to take part in this mission.  There will be a high level of danger involved and you could die if things go bad.”

He looked at each of those gathered around the table as they looked at each other and Jack said first, “I’m in.  I’ve been bored to tears for the last few years.”

Leo looked at Glenny, “Don’t worry about your new job; I’m sure you’ll make more with us in two years than you will in ten on your new job.  The others immediately began agreeing as well. 

Everyone heard crowd noise and immediately noticed the customers gathered around the entrance began scattering as Barney said, “It must be eight o’clock.”

Everyone at the table looked toward the door and saw an eight foot tall Insectoid moving through the crowd toward their table.  It walked on four legs with two arms emerging out of its thorax below its huge triangular shaped head.  Two large multifaceted black eyes were located on each side of the triangle that were large enough to wrap around its head from the front to the sides.  It was flashing different colors of green and neon blue as the lights in the tavern flashed of the hard shell that protected its body.  The woman said, “I was wrong.  None of you are that ugly!”

Leo turned around and saw the Insectoid being given plenty of space by the crowd.  He stood up and met the creature before he arrived at the table and said, “Thank you for coming; I wasn’t sure you would.”

“I may not be staying.  I just wanted to see what she looks like.”

Leo shrugged, “She’s pretty close to the original but she is not Victoria.”

The Insectoid turned his multi-faceted eyes toward Leo, “Is she not worthy of the gift?”

“Actually, her heart is purer than Victoria’s.  You’ll have to make your own decision about whether or not she’s worthy of the gift.”

Ana watched them communicating and stood up, walked over to them, and looked up at the huge Insectoid.  They stopped talking and Ana said, “I understand that you provided the DNA Technology to change my appearance.”  The Insectoid nodded.  “I was not happy at first but now I’ve become accustomed to my appearance and I want to thank you for your gift.  I’ve managed to stay alive because of it and I want you to know I truly appreciate it.  Please lean down for a moment.”  The Insectoid leaned down expecting Ana to whisper something but she went up on her toes and kissed it on the side of its triangular shaped head.  “Thank you!”

The Insectoid stared at her for a long moment and then turned to Leo, “You’re right, her heart is purer.”  It turned back to Ana, “You are welcome.  I see that Leonidas has chosen well on who to use it on.”

“Are you going to stay?” Leo quickly asked.

The Insectoid looked at Leo and then back at Ana before answering, “Yes, I think I will for a while longer.  At least for the time being.”

Leo smiled and waved him over to the table.  Ana smiled as well and followed Leo back to her chair as the Insectoid stood behind Leo looking around the table where the former mercenaries sat in silence staring at him.  “Everyone, this is Gem.  He’s been a close friend and has helped me more than I can say in developing my survival skills.  He’s here to listen to what’s going on just like all of you and I’m hoping he will join us.  You can introduce yourselves to him once you hear what I’m planning but we need to get down to business now.”

The Insectoid looked at the gathering and said in a calm voice with perfect Cartian dialect, “I apologize if my appearance causes any of you distress.  I understand that initially my appearance can cause some to feel ill but, after some time has passed, you will become accustomed to how I appear.”

Barney smiled as he said, “I’ve seen much worse.  I think all of us are glad you’re here with us.  We’ve heard many things about your species and I can honestly say that I’m hoping to find out if they’re true.”

“Thank you.” The Insectoid looked around and said to Leo in a soft, clearly modulated voice, “Do you wish to keep this conversation private?”

Leo said without turning around, “I do.”  Suddenly, the entire group was surrounded by a light blue colored privacy field.  Leo smiled and said, “I know all of you are wondering why I brought this woman with me.  The name you will use to address her will be Victoria or My Lady, which is not her real name, but it makes it easier for you to not inadvertently say her name.”  Leo looked at Ana, “Alright, tell them what you want.”

Ana’s eyes went wide, “I thought you were going to do that?”

“You’re the one paying them.  You asked to be here so it should be you who tells them what’s going on.  Tell them everything; they deserve to know what they’re getting into.”

Every eye around the table, including Gem’s eyes turned to her.  She looked around the table and sighed heavily as she began speaking, “About a month ago I was traveling on a Starliner for Kellinger.  We were boarded by pirates led by John Blakely and he killed two members of the group I was traveling with…”

Leo sat back and listened to Ana retell everything that had happened down to the smallest detail except for the name of her family.  He was genuinely surprised she remembered all of it.  She even remembered the trigger ring on the man’s hand in the black vehicle.  He watched the former warriors gathered around the table and saw she had their total attention.  He could even tell that Gem was also totally focused on what she was saying.  He saw most of the warriors looked directly at him when Ana mentioned that he was going after Blakely for killing his brother.  That information will have to be handled after Ana finished.  He turned and listened with the others.

“…so when Leo said he was going to pick up a crew, I asked if he might help me find a crew to fly my ship as well.  That pretty much brings you up to date.  I’m here with him to hire a crew to fly my ship.”

Jack looked at Leo, “Tell me about this brother.  I never knew you had a brother.”  Leo saw Ana’s head jerk around to stare at him.  Leo sighed, “Most of you know after the unit was dissolved, I shipped out with my former Regimental CO.”  The group nodded.  “He was given a medium warship as pay he never received and left before the Unity Fleet arrived.  We moved around the galaxy hiring ourselves out as mercenary escorts defending commercial shipments.  We were between jobs and traveling on the Unity’s filament, when we heard a distress call from a Unity Warship.  The ship was under attack by a pirate fleet and most of the support vessels were knocked out of action.

  We boosted in and opened fire on the three ships moving in to board the ship and breached their hulls causing them to withdraw.  Four of the remaining pirate ships started pursuing us as three other pirate ships began moving in to replace the ships that were knocked out of the fight.  Then a Unity supporting fleet came boosting in at high speed on the filament and the pirates fled.  We also got out of there fast and thought we had lost the Pirates.  We went to Jergan to replenish our stores.” 

Leo paused for a moment and continued, “Evidently, one of the pirate ships managed to follow us to Jergan and called in the survivors of the pirate attack.  I was on the planet’s surface purchasing supplies when they boosted in and surrounded my ship and blasted it into rubble; Mark contacted me before he died letting me know that a John Blakely was leading the pirate fleet.”

The table looked somber and the woman said, “Mark is gone?”

Leo nodded, “He is and I intend to make the ones that killed him pay for it.”

The woman’s sorrow was clear as she said, “I’ve been looking for both of you since the unit disbanded.”

Leo slowly shook his head, “Mark told me that he felt you should get out of the business of war and settle down, Desiree.  He didn’t want you to die.”

“He didn’t have the right to make that decision without discussing it with me, Leonidas.”

“He did what he thought was best and you would be dead with him if he had taken you with us.”

“But I would have at least had some happy moments instead of the miserable life I’ve lived since the two of you flew away and disappeared.  Count me in on this!”

“Lieutenant, I don’t know if taking you with me would be a good thing.”

The woman stared at him and sternly said, “The same thing goes for you!  You’re emotionally involved in this just as much as I am.  If you can maintain control, you know I can as well.  Would you want to be left out in punishing his killers?”  Leo stared at her.  “WOULD YOU?!”

Leo stared a moment longer and said, “No, I wouldn’t.  However, if you do anything to endanger this mission I will personally toss you out of the airlock and not give it a second thought!  You got that!”

The woman nodded, “Yes, Sir!  I expect nothing less.  I want to be there with you when you confront his killers.”

Jack looked at Leo, “How many will you need to go with you, Sir?”

“I don’t know yet.  I’m going to arm our ships and the armaments will determine how many I need to operate them.”

“You will need twenty to operate the armaments on your ship,” the Insectoid said behind Leo.  Leo turned around and looked at him as it said, “I will arm the two ships and take on training Victoria as you’ve requested to learn the skills she’ll need to survive.”

“Will this cause you an issue with your leaders?”

“No.”

Leo smiled, “Ok, this is how we’re going to do it.  Desiree along with Barney’s group will join me on my ship.”

Barney’s eyes narrowed, “Why are you choosing me to go with you instead of others that served with your CO?  They deserve the right to make the pirate pay for his killing one of their own.”

Leo smiled, “Because you actually look like pirates, Captain.   With the way you’re dressed along with your beards and long hair, you’ve learned to live like a pirate on this planet.  You’re going to have to teach the others chosen to serve on my ship how to play the role.”

Barney stared at Leo, looked around at the others, and then smiled, “Arggg, Captain, we be pirates.”

The gathering burst out laughing and Leo looked at the others, “The remaining fourteen members of my crew will be selected by drawing lots to determine who goes with me and who stays with Victoria.  I want those of you that go with Victoria to understand that if any harm comes to her while you’re on this assignment, I will hold all of you personally responsible for it.”

Jack quickly said, “Sir, we don’t have any personal arms.  They were confiscated by the Unity Forces.  We have nothing to defend her.”

“I will provide what you need,” The Insectoid answered immediately.

Leo reached in his backpack and pulled out a velvet bag that jingled.  He took out the coins from it and took a marker out of the backpack’s side pocket.  He marked fourteen coins with the marker and put thirty-five back into the bag.  He handed the bag to Ana, “Please mix them up.” 

Jack quickly said, “Gem said that you’d only need twenty crewmen.  Barney’s group has eight and Desiree makes nine; fourteen more totals twenty-three.”

Leonidas smiled, “I’ll need twenty to operate the weapons.  I’ll also need three others to man the bridge and fly the ship.  Since Desiree will be one of the three, I’ll need fourteen others.”

Jack rolled his eyes, “Sorry, Sir.  You’re absolutely right.”

Billy spoke up from the end of the table, “What about Victoria’s ship?  I understand it’s much larger than yours.  Won’t it need more crewmembers than yours?”

Gem shook his head, “Victoria’s vessel has twice the room inside it which allows for much larger weapon consoles.  She will only need nine crewmen for the missile controls and nine for the blasters.  That will leave three to man the bridge.  Since all of the weapons will be hidden inside the ship’s hull, the control panels will have to be more extensive than the smaller ship.  It will also be more powerful than the smaller ship because of housing more weapons.”

Ana took the bag and began shaking it from all different angles.  The coins were all the same size and the group knew that this was truly going to be done by the luck of the draw.  She handed the bag to Leo and he opened the top, “I want all of you to understand that Victoria is possibly in more danger than I am.”

Barney’s head went back as he asked, “How can that be?  We’re going after Pirates and she says that she is going to fly around the universe having a good time.”

Leo looked at him, “She didn’t tell you who was trying to capture or kill her.” 

Everyone stared at her and Ana said, “My father is Serge Romanov.”

The gathering was shocked by the admission as Leo said, “And he possess the wealth to go after her with forces that are beyond your wildest dreams.  She is going to do all she can to avoid being found but the Romanovs are a lot smarter and more powerful than any fleet of pirates we go up against; they will be using modern warships and arms to attempt to capture her along with the most modern scientific methods to find her.”

Leo held out the bag and Desiree said, “Before you start drawing coins, you need to put another marked coin in the bag.”

Leo lowered the bag, “Why is that, Desiree.”

Desiree sighed, “Victoria is going to need a woman to go with her as an attendant. There will be places she will have to go where a man can’t go with her.  If I don’t go with her, you are going to have to hire a female to do it and I don’t know if you can find anyone that can’t be turned by Romanov’s wealth.  I want to go and kill this John Blakey with you more than you know but the scope of this assignment calls for me to put my personal feelings aside to do the right thing.  The mission requires a female to be on her ship and I don’t think anyone else around this table can pass that physical.”

Leo smiled as he reached in the bag and took out an unmarked coin.  He marked it and put it in the bag.  “Lieutenant, you were always the best officer in the battalion at developing strategy.  I honor you for your willing sacrifice in making this plan stronger and you’re absolutely right about needing another woman on board Victoria’s ship.”

Desiree looked at the Insectoid, “Would it be possible for you to train me with her?”

The Insectoid stared at her before saying, “Some of the training is very painful.”

Desiree looked at Ana, “If she can take it, I believe I can as well.”

“It will be as you request, Lieutenant.  However, I can only train two.”

Leo looked at the group, “Desiree will be in overall command of those that go with Victoria’s Ship and will develop the strategy to keep her safe.”  He handed the bag back to Ana, “Please mix them up again.”  Ana took the bag and shook it again.  She stared at Desiree as she shook it and wondered if this was a good thing or not.  She handed the bag to Leo and he opened the top, “Pull one, please.”

The thirty-five remaining warriors began pulling coins and some of them said, “Damn it, man,” when they pulled an unmarked coin.  At the end, Leo said, “Those who are going with me will go with me to my ship.  The others will go with Victoria to her ship.”  Leo turned around, “Gem, we’ll follow your ship to where the ships and crews will be armed and you can join Victoria’s crew there.”

Victoria quickly said, “There’s an issue we’ve not addressed.”

Everyone was standing up and they immediately sat down.  Jack looked at her, “What issue is that, my lady?”

“Leonidas will determine the pay for those that go with him on his ship.  Those of you that go with me will be paid a hundred thousand credits a week for spending money.”  The sudden intake of breaths was loud.  “That’s not all; all your expenses while serving on this assignment will be paid and if at the end of it we’re successful, each of you will receive ten million credits.”

Desiree’s mouth fell open, “Are you serious?!”

“I need to find a way to set up an untraceable account for all of you but, yes, I’m serious.”

Gem said, “I will set up the accounts, if you will give me the names you wish to attach to each of them.”

Leo looked at his crew, “You will not be going to planets to party and have a good time.  You will be playing the role of pirates and there is a good possibility that all of us might be killed.”  He looked at Gem, “Is it possible for you to also set up an account for each member of my crew and transfer fifteen million credits into them?”

“Do you have the funds to make the transfer?”

“I do and I’d also like a beneficiary listed on each account in the event the worst happens.”

“Have your crew provide the names and I’ll have the cards for them before the ships are finished being armed.”

“I want you to give the cards for my crew to Victoria to hold until my mission is over.”

“Why?” Carl quickly asked.

Leo smiled, “Because some of you will really be tempted to use those funds and that could blow our cover of being poor pirates.”  Leo looked at Carl, “Captain, buying the Romulus Gold Chronometer you’ve always wanted could get us all killed.  I will take care of any expenses during the mission but most of you will be living on a small amount each week.  That’s why your end bonus will be fifty percent larger than the crew with Victoria.”

Leonidas looked at Desiree, “You’re not only protecting the Lady but our futures as well, Lieutenant, and you are now promoted to Captain and will be in command of Victoria’s vessel.”  He looked at Ana, “You will follow her orders just as you would mine.”

Desiree rolled her eyes, “As if I needed more pressure.”

Ana said, “Gem, could you hold on to those cards and make sure Leonidas’ Crew’s beneficiaries receive them if they kill that bastard and don’t make it?”

Leo shook his head, “No, you will hold the cards!”  She tilted her head as he said, “I’m holding them responsible for your safety.  Being responsible for the safety of their comrades’ future retirement makes sure they make their best effort to keep you safe.”

“But they will lose their own reward if they fail.  Isn’t that enough?”

Desiree sighed, “Victoria, losing ours won’t be near as hard to accept as losing those belonging to our brothers.  Leonidas is right, it should be done this way.”

Victoria looked at her and said, “Then Leo will hold the cards of my crew.”

Leo looked at her and smiled, “I will put them in a safe place.  Is there anything else we’ve not done?”  Ana shook her head.

Leo raised his hands as everyone started to stand up, “There is one other issue.  Jack, you and Desiree will start a physical training regimen to get the crews in top physical shape.”  Ana rolled her eyes but noticed that none of the others showed any reluctance. 

Glenny leaned over and whispered to her, “My Lady, we all know that if we’re not in combat physical condition, we won’t be at our best.  Most of us aren’t after the long layoff.”  Ana nodded and smiled.

She looked at Desiree and saw her nod, “That includes both of us as well, My Lady.”

Leo stood up, “Alright, let’s go to the bus parked outside and I’ll take you to our ships and get this thing started.”  The gathering stood up and started moving toward the exit.  Leo saw Gem moving toward the bar.  He rushed up to him, “What’s going on?”

“The bartender took a photograph of our meeting.”  Leo followed the Insectoid to the bar and the bartender was looking extremely nervous.  “I noticed that you took a photo of our gathering.  Would you mind telling me why you violated our privacy?” Gem asked in a calm voice.

The bartender was shaking as the owner walked up, “Is there a problem?”

Leo looked at him, “Your employee took a photo of my friends and me; I’d like to know why.”

The owner looked at the bartender, “Is this true?”

The bartender made a break for the exit but Gem blew something out his mouth and he dropped in his tracks before he reached the end of the bar.  “Get his communicator!” Gem said calmly to Leo.  Leo went over and took the bartender’s communicator out of his shirt pocket as Gem turned to the owner, “He is not harmed and will wake up not remembering anything that happened for the last twelve hours.  Do I have to destroy the camera and recording device you have behind the mirror?”

The owner stared at the Insectoid before saying, “I record everything that happens here in the event someone starts a brawl.  The recording helps in the following court proceedings.”

“If you don’t mind, I am going to erase the recording.”

The owner stared at the large Insectoid and nodded, “Go ahead.”

Gem pulled a device off his belt and pointed it at the mirror.  A moment later, he pointed it at four other places scattered around the tavern.  The owner’s eyes narrowed and Gem said, “I assumed you wouldn’t mind my clearing all of them.  You will need to power them back on once we leave.”  Gem turned and followed Leo out of the tavern. 

The owner stared at them and knew he was missing an opportunity but he didn’t know what it was.  But he had taken a photo on his communicator earlier and he pulled it out to take a look at it.  He started cursing.  His communicator was fused solid.  Something important happened in his tavern but he had no idea what it was or who to contact to sell the information to.  He intended to start inquiries the next day but died from an aneurism that night.  The small micro-bot shot into his skin while Gem erased the recordings moved through his blood vessels and carried out its programed instructions when it arrived at his heart.  The bartender died three days later.

Chapter Five

Serge looked at his Security Chief and his rage was clear, “MY DAUGHTER HAS TAKEN ALL THE FUNDS FROM THE SALE OF THE TELEPORTATION COMPANY!!  I WANT HER FOUND, NOW!!”

“Sir, we’ve been flying DNA drones all over the planet along with using satellites DNA scanners and; as of yet, she has not shown up on any of them!”

“GET HER SISTER IN HERE IMMEDIATELY FOR QUESTIONING!!”

“Sir, we’ve been keeping a tight surveillance of her since the Starliner arrived and she has been calling my office demanding to know what we’ve done with her.  The detectors have revealed that she is not lying and does not know where she is.  Ana has also not attempted to contact her.  Someone is preventing our finding her.”

“Who?”

“Her sister says that she was chasing a man who was on the ship with her after they landed on Kellinger.  She told us that she wanted him to make the Pirates pay for their actions and she was going to use him to do it.”

“What is his name and who is he?”

“Sir, his name in not on the passenger’s manifest and there are no images of him on the Starliner’s database.”

Serge sat down and stared at the Security Chief, “How would someone be able to make that happen?”

“There is only one way, the man had to be carrying a Purple Card.”

“You are trying to tell me that my inexperienced, dumb daughter managed to find one of ten possible Purple Card holders in the known universe?”

“That is the only way that man could have avoided being recorded or tracked in the Starliner’s database, Sir.  I suspect it was he that changed the delivery plans for the Trillium.”

Serge thought about the information and asked, “Have you been able to find out who in my organization is working against me?”

“No, Sir.”

“USE YOUR DETECTORS AND QUESTION EVERYONE!!”

“I’ve done that already, Sir, and no one has turned up.”

“If she’s with a Purple Card Holder, she’s probably off the planet by now.”

The Security Chief nodded slightly, “I don’t know how she could board a Starliner and leave Kellinger but I also don’t know all the assets a Purple Card Holder has at their disposal.  He may have access to a ship we don’t know about.”

“Contact the Unity and get a list of Purple Card Holders!”

“That is something you will have to do, Sir.  I could be arrested and incarcerated for simply asking.  It will take someone of your status to even broach the topic with the Unity.  I have been told by one of my sources in the government that no list is kept in any computer.”

“WHAT?!”

“They issue the cards and keep no record of who receives them.  The vote on approving a Purple Card takes a unanimous vote by the Major Assembly but the name of the holder is never mentioned.  The actions of the individual being considered are discussed but that is all, there is no mention of names.  The President of the Assembly might know who they are but he would be the only one.  Do you have a working relationship with the President?”

Serge scowled, “No, he has made it clear he detests me.”

“Then finding out from the Unity who that man is will be next to impossible.”

“Would another Purple Card Holder know the others?”

“Probably not.”

“Well, she’s taken a rather large sum of my credits and I will not tolerate that happening…ever!  Find her!!  I don’t care what it takes, find her and bring her to me!!”

“It could cost in the billions, Sir.”

“I SAID I DON’T CARE WHAT IT TAKES!!!”

“Yes, Sir.  I’ll expand the search now.”

• • •

The Spider sat at the console and saw the instructions being issued by the Security Chief.  Ummm…it appears that Little Girl Romanov has upset Daddy.  How was the daughter going to be found by the assets available to use?  Romanov would have far more tools to use and to start actively searching for her might expose them.  Should patience be exercised and plan to take her from those that might find her?  Let’s just wait and see what develops before taking an active role in capturing her.  The pirates might have to be called on again but that would be done later after Daddy’s tools found her.  The Spider leaned back further and smiled.  Upsetting Daddy was the favorite pastime and this looked like another dagger that could be twisted in him.

• • •

The three ships moved on a filament leading to a blue and green planet close to the center of a Red Giant Star System.  All stars were connected by the filaments that moved out from every star to others close by.  The subspace filaments had two flows on them; one moving away from the star and the other moving toward it.  Both moved at superlight speed and allowed starships to move around the universe at incredible speeds.  This filament had no traffic or Cartian Traffic Controllers on it.  No one violated the Insectoid’s Territory, to do so would lead to a certain death of the violators.

Ten Insectoid Warships boosted off the planet and Gem activated his communication system, “These two ships are with me.  They will not be harmed.”

“You know the rules about bringing ships here!” he heard over his communicator.

“I do and you will return to your base and not challenge me again!!”

“Yes, Majesty.  I will have to report this to your mother.”

“Do whatever you want.  The next time you come out to challenge my ship, I will have everyone on the offending ships executed!!”  The ten warships turned and boosted away from the three ships at high speed.

An hour later, Gem saw his mother’s image appear on his console, “Is there a reason for your behavior, Prince?”

“I am bored and have chosen to involve myself in correcting a wrong that has been committed.”

“What are your intentions?”

“To arm the two ships coming with me and go with them once that is done.”

“I’ve given you a lot of freedom but this is causing me to question my decision.”

“Are you ready to step down and allow me to replace you?”

“Of course not!”

“Then until you are ready to do that, I need to keep my mind developing and active.  This will keep me involved and away from your Realm.  I would think that is reason enough to allow me to play.  I pose a distraction for you every time you make an unpopular decision.”

“I miss being able to go out and play,” the Queen said with a sigh.

“I know you do, Mother.  I should be allowed to use the free time given to me to enjoy myself and this adventure appears to be just what I need to bring me joy.  You know I wouldn’t bring anyone here that I don’t trust and these beings are worthy of my assistance.”

“Would it not be safer to just give them two of our warships?”

“It would be safer but the ones that need to be punished would never come close to one of our ships.  I do intend to make these two vessels as powerful as our warships.”

“I would ask you why you’ve chosen to do this but I have too much to do to take the time to examine it.”

“I know, Mother, and one day I will no longer have free time to enjoy the universe around me.  I know my duty and will be a good successor when that time comes.  Please indulge me and allow me to follow my whims.”

“I will notify our engineers to follow your orders precisely.  I’ve missed you.”

“You don’t have time to miss me.”

“I know, but I find moments where I do.  Good luck in what you have chosen to do.”

“Thank you and I’ve missed you as well.”  The display went dark and Gem pressed a button on his console, “Leonidas, have your two ships follow me down to the planet where you will find two empty berths on the ground.  Land your ships on them and I’ll meet you on the surface.”

“Thank you, my friend,” Leo graciously responded.

“Notify Victoria and Desiree that their training will start this evening after their physical training.”

“Will do.”

Gem pressed another button and an engineer appeared on his display, “I need two structures built immediately at the shipyard equipped to house the species known as human.  I want two private quarters in one of them for two human females.”

“How soon do you need them?”

“Within the hour.”

“It will probably take three hours to build them both.”

“Then complete the one with the private quarters first.”

“That can be done in the timeframe you command.”

“I also want clothing for them in each structure.”

“We’ll have that done within the hour.”

“Thank you for your promptness.”

“It is my pleasure, Majesty.”

Gem sat back and thought about Victoria.  He had made a mistake years ago and was still paying the price.  It wouldn’t do for Mother to know about it; she would not be happy.

• • •

“Leonidas, you need to look at this.”

Leo looked at Carl and said, “Put it on my panel.” 

An image of the place on the planet they were moving toward appeared and he saw thousands of Insectoids building some kind of structure.  It looked like watching a high speed recording of a time lapsed event.  The building was going up at an incredible speed and he could only shake his head, “That is absolutely amazing!”

“How do they move that fast, Sir?”

Leo smiled, “Trust me on this, Carl, the Insectoids operate on a different timescale than we do.  They are faster than any species I’ve ever seen.  That must be where we’re going to live while the ships are being modified.”

Barney looked over from the thruster controls, “I’ve heard their warships are beyond anything in the known universe.”

Leo nodded, “The insectoids don’t go out of this galaxy and pretty much ignore the rest of the universe.  I guess we could say the same thing.  We pretty much stay here as well.  There might be other species scattered around the universe that would be a match or even superior but I’ve not heard of any civilization in our galaxy that could handle them.  I know the Unity was sent packing when they tried to force them to join.”

Carl looked up from the scanner screen, “I understand that the Unity was able to destroy some of their ships in the initial battle.”

Embree called out from the communication panel, “I heard that as well from a Unity Officer but he said that it took ten Unity Warships to defeat just one of theirs.”

“The important thing to remember is that no single ship can defeat an overwhelming number of attackers,” Leo quickly added.

“What are we up against, Sir?” Jack asked.

“Tortuga is the planet where all the pirate fleets call home.  They are protected there and outside forces are not allowed there with warships.  There are more than eight thousand pirate fleets that call that planet home and the one we’re after is just one of them.  However, they will all come to the defense of any pirate fleet that is attacked at Tortuga.”

“How many armed ships are there, Sir” Carl asked.

“More than a fifteen thousand Pirate warships are on Tortuga at any given time.”

“And we’re going after this pirate with just one ship?”

“We are and we can’t just wait for this particular pirate to leave the planet.  The planetary scanners are the best in the galaxy and we’d be seen if we moved anywhere near enough to scan for him to exit the planet.  We’d be asked the nature of our business and if we didn’t have a good answer, several thousand pirate ships would come after us to find out.  Even if we stayed far out on the filament, the traffic going in and out from the planet would see us hanging around and issue a warning to the planet.  The end result would be the same; we’d be approached by a large fleet and questioned.”

“This sounds like a tough nut to crack, Sir.”

“It is, Embree.  The only way to do this is to join them.  We have to become pirates in order to move around freely on Tortuga.  There are rules to living on Tortuga and we’re going to have to learn them and follow them to the letter.”

“Is that why you say this mission could take a couple of years?” Barney asked.

“Yes it is.  And we may be forced to go out with a pirate fleet to take part in an attack on an innocent ship.  I hope it doesn’t come to that but it very well could.  I suspect there have been many that have gone to Tortuga masquerading as pirates and the Tortugan Pirates have a system devised to separate real pirates from secret agents.  I know that I’m not the only one looking for revenge against a pirate that killed a loved one.”

“Sir, Victoria’s ship is moving toward the ship berth to the north.”

“Thanks, Carl.  I have the ship.”  Leo took the controls and started the ship moving into the planet’s upper atmosphere.  An hour later, he had the ship hovering over the south Berth and slowly lowered the ship into it.   He opened the exit port and stood up.  He walked to the landing bay and saw the crew was waiting for his arrival.  “Everyone remain on board until I call you.”  Leo exited the ship and saw Gem waiting at the foot of the exit ramp.”

“We’ve completed the first building and both crews should go there and settle in for the moment.  That building will be for Victoria’s crew but you can share it until your building is completed.”

Leo lifted his communicator and said, “Everyone pick up your duffle bags and follow us.”  The crew picked up their bags and started exiting the port.  They looked around and saw all of the Insectoids close to them were staring at them in silence.  Carl said to Embree, “I imagine we’re just as ugly to them as they are to us.”

Embree smiled, “You think!”  Carl laughed and led the crew behind Leo and Gem.

Leo looked at Gem as they walked toward the building, “How long do you think it will take to arm the ships?”

“About two or three months.”

Leo’s eyes narrowed, “Why that long?”

“I’ve ordered your ships to be pretty much stripped of their hulls and replaced with the material we use on our warships.  We will also have to engineer in the modifications that hide the majority of the weapons we’re going to install.”

“But I need my ship to look like it’s an old vessel.”

“The paint put on it at the end will take care of that issue.  We’re also going to replace your reactors and reengineer your booster tubes to handle the increased thrust.”

“Gem, I don’t expect you to go to this much expense.”

“My mother insists that the ship be powerful enough to protect me should I be on board.  This is not optional or I wouldn’t be allowed to participate in your little venture.”

“Gem, are you someone of importance here?”

Gem made a noise from his mandibles and said, “I am the next in line to follow the Queen.  You might say I carry a little weight around here.  I have no option but to make your ships at least as powerful as our own.”

“What do you mean ‘at least’?”

“Your two ships are twice the size of our warships, which means they can house a much larger weapons array inside their hulls.  You’ve seen how fast we can build and it is going to take at least a month, probably two, just to complete the hull’s rebuild.”

“I need a couple of standard blasters installed on the outer hull.”

“I’ve ordered two.”

Leo thought a moment and shrugged, “Will they look like a standard Unity ship blaster?”

“They will and you can control the energy going through them to appear like a standard blaster.   However, at full power they will be much more powerful than a standard Unity blaster.”

“It sounds like you’ve done this before?”

Gem looked at him, “How do you think we keep track of what’s going on around us?  We have ships out keeping track of those that need watching.  Besides, I need the time to prepare Victoria and Desiree to complete most of their training and your crews need the time to prepare themselves physically for the missions.”  Gem paused and said, “Not to mention being trained on the small arms they’ll be using.”

“I need that training as well.”

“Yes you do.”

“And if we’re here two months, the ones searching for Victoria will have time to run themselves crazy over not finding her.”

“The list is long and will get longer as to why this time is a benefit and not a liability.  Use it wisely and make sure you’re ready.”

“Thanks, Gem.”

“I’m not only doing this for you, Leonidas.”

“I know.”  Leo saw Victoria’s crew moving toward the building from their ship and he wiped his brow, “It really is hot here.”

“It’s only a hundred and three.  My species likes the heat.”

“I hope we can adjust to it.”

Gem made a clacking sound as he laughed, “You’re acting like a big baby.”

“Easy for you to say.  Let say we take a trip to a planet with three feet of snow and see how you do.”

“Snow is my friend.”

Leo laughed out loud and walked through the front entrance and found the room was at seventy-two degrees.  He sighed as Gem said, “Big baby!”

• • •

The two crews gathered in the central room and fell into chairs.  Barney went to a bed, opened the locker beside it, and saw clothes hanging inside it.  He looked at Leo, “Sir, these clothes are new.  No self-respecting pirate would be wearing anything this clean.”

Gem looked at him, “This building is for Victoria’s crew.  The two quarters at the front of this building are for the two women.  However, your building will be completed in a couple of hours and you’ll find clothes just like these at your beds.”

Barney stared at Gem and looked at Leo, who said, “Captain, just do your physical training in them and they’ll pass for a poor pirate’s attire after a few days.”

Barney looked at the clothes and nodded, “You’re right.  An hour of exertion in that hell outside should do the trick.”

“I do expect you to keep them clean, Barney.”

“Oh, I’ll do that but they will undergo a rather severe metamorphosis.”

“How long are we going to be here, Sir?” Leo heard Desiree ask over his shoulder.

Leo turned to Desiree, “About sixty to ninety days.  We’re going to use that time to get in shape and learn how to use the small arms we’re going to carry.  We’ll use the last two weeks to learn how to operate the weapons on the ships.”

Desiree looked at Victoria and then turned to Leo, “Why don’t we just stay here until the heat blows over?”

Gem looked at her, “We do not allow foreigners to stay on our planet longer than absolutely necessary.  All of you will remain in these buildings and only go out to exercise or train during the day.”

Leo looked at Desiree, “Does that answer your question?”

Desiree nodded, “Yes, Sir, it does.  What about this?  We could just leave this galaxy for another and wait it out.”

“Yes, you could but there is a chance that I might need you to come and rescue my ship if things get dicey.  That would be difficult to do in another galaxy,” Leonidas said with a smile.

Desire stared at him and then looked at Victoria, “I guess that means it’ll be party time as soon as we leave here.”

Victoria smiled, “I’ll try to make it as entertaining as possible.”

Desiree laughed, “I’m looking forward to it.  You need to teach me how to dance.”

Victoria laughed, “No Problem!”

Gem looked at them, “Once you complete your physical exercise today, I will come for you around sundown to start your preparation for training.”

The two women looked at each other and Victoria said, “Is this where the pain starts you mentioned earlier?”

“You can say that.”

Victoria looked at Desiree who said, “I might have asked for something I’ll later regret.”

Victoria smiled, “Hey, at least we’ll endure it together.”

“Tell it sista!”

Leo looked around the room, “Everyone change into PT clothes and make sure you take enough water with you.  Get moving!”

Leo looked at Gem, who said, “I’m going to consult with the engineers about your ships.  Contact me if you need me.  Oh, I’ve also ordered private quarters for you in your crew’s building.”

“Why, I’m ok without them.”

“Your crew needs space to complain without you there to hear them.”

Leo stared at him and then shrugged, “I didn’t think about that.  You’re right.”

“Of course I am.  See you later.”

The forty-four humans changed clothes and left the cool building.  The first day was later named, A Walk Through Hell, by the crews.  The second day was only marginally better but that was only because it was cloudy with low humidity.  They finally arrived back after the first run and found the second building was completed and both crews went inside their quarters and collapsed.  Ana knew she was going to die at least four times the first day but managed to tough it out completing the run twenty minutes after the others.  Four hours later, Gem showed up and said, “It’s time; come with me.”

Chapter Six

Victoria and Desiree followed Gem to his ship and he led them to a room in the rear.  They looked around and saw several glassed enclosed cylinders along the walls.  They looked at Gem and he said, “In order for you to be able to endure the training, your bodies must undergo a series of changes.”

“What sort of changes?” Desiree asked.

“First your skeletal structure must be strengthened.  This will be done over a week with one exposure in a tube each day.”  They stared at him in silence and Gem said, “Your nervous systems and muscles will also undergo a transformation later and in order for them to function without harming you, your bones must be strengthened along with the tendons and cushioning between them.”

“Did Leonidas go through this, Gem?”

“He did.”

“When did he do that?”

“A short time after Mark and the original Victoria died.  It was after their deaths that he and I became friends as we mourned those we cared about.  I mentioned it to him and he asked me to do it to him.”

Desiree looked at Gem and then turned to Victoria, “We need to start this before I chicken out.”

Gem opened one of the glass covers and said, “Please climb inside and if there is anything you can focus on mentally, it will help you deal with the pain.”

Victoria moved toward the cylinder and Desiree pushed her aside, “I go first.”

“Why?”

“Because if I see you in pain, I might not have the courage to go through with it.”

Victoria sighed, “Desiree, I promise you that you can deal with it a lot better than I can.  I’ve lived a very soft life and I’m nowhere near as strong as you are.”

“Thank you for saying so, but I still need to go first.”

Gem opened another cylinder, “The two of you can start together.  Please climb in and make yourselves as comfortable as possible.”

“Gem, couldn’t you anesthetize us?”

“Your mind needs to be fully functional for the changes to take place properly.  Sing a song in your mind or think of a chant or anything else that will take your attention away from your body.  Part of your training involves ignoring pain signals and this is a good place to start.”

They climbed into the cylinders and Gem closed the glass covers.  He put an arm on each of them and said, “It begins…now,” as he pressed the button on each.  Both of them went ridged and closed their eyes as the pain hit them.  Gem watched them and waited for thirty minutes for the process to complete.  He then pressed a button on each cylinder and they were put to sleep.  He set the modules to heal the inflammation and allowed them to remain in the cylinders until the next morning.

• • •

He arrived at day break and saw the two women were sleeping.  He pressed the wake button on their cylinders and, after a few minutes they opened their eyes.  He opened the glass covers and said, “How do you feel?”

Victoria raised her arms and stretched.  She winced slightly and said, “Not bad really.  It wasn’t as bad as I thought.”

“That’s because I erased the memory of the pain once the process was completed.”

Desiree sat up, “Why did you do that?”

“Because neither of you would go back in the cylinder if you remembered.”

They looked at each other and Victoria blew out a breath, “I need to go and take a bath.”

Gem smiled, “Leonidas is waiting for you to get ready for PT.  You need to hurry.  Get something to eat and meet him outside.”

Victoria looked up and rolled her eyes as Desiree said, “A woman’s work is never done!”  They climbed out of the cylinders and went to their quarters.  They ate a quick meal and joined the others outside.  They could feel a lot of soreness in their joints but were able to work it out within the first mile of the run.  Ana found the second day was easier than the first and wondered if it was due to the changes made in the cylinder.  She still came in last but was only ten minutes behind the others.

• • •

Each day the time in the cylinders was increased by fifteen minutes.  On the seventh day, the pain was the worst and the session was the longest.  Both women were writhing and crying when it finally ended.  Gem put them both to sleep immediately and was thankful the first process was completed.  He would give them one day off before starting on modifying their muscular structures.

Ana was no longer coming in last.  She was mid-pack at the finish line and Desiree was leading the group.  Their distance had improved dramatically from the first day as the crews acclimated to the high temperatures.  Now the run was followed by weight training and the changes in them was clearly visible.  They were getting stronger and faster.

• • •

“Gem, what are you changing this time?” Victoria asked.

“All of the muscles in your bodies will be modified.”

“Are we going to look like one of those heavily muscled body builders?” Desiree asked.

“No, your muscles will remain the same size they are now.  “They’ll just be composed of strands that are closer to high strength alloys and can handle a lot more stress and weight than normal humans.”

“How long will this take?”

“Five days, Victoria.”

“Well, let’s get it over with.”  They climbed into two new cylinders and Gem started the process.  The pain was still there but their bodies’ pain tolerance had gone up considerably and, though the pain was slightly worse than before, they appeared to tolerate it better.  The five days passed quickly and starting to go through weapons training helped the days pass quickly.

• • •

After a day’s break from the cylinders, they met Gem in the room.  “What’s up, Gem?” Victoria asked with a smile.

“This is the last change you’ll go through and it will be the worse of the three.”

Victoria’s smile disappeared as Desiree asked, “What is going to happen?”

“The first two processes are done first for a reason; they are used to raise your pain tolerance before you start the third.  The third process will change your nervous systems dramatically.”

The two women looked at each other and Victoria said, “What do you mean by dramatically?”

“Human nerves operate chemically.  The messages that move along your nerves are chemical processes that travel down a series of axons.  Your new nervous system will be operating electrically and will be faster than you can imagine.  However, it is your nerves that transmit pain signals to your brains.  I will be monitoring both of you and if either of you approach a threshold beyond what your minds can endure, I will stop the process and continue it from that point the next day.”

Desiree looked at Gem, “If it’s all the same to you, if you stop Victoria I want you to stop me as well.”

Gem tilted his head and said, “Why?”

“We started this together and I want us to finish together.”

Victoria smiled, “The same goes for me, Gem.”

“If that is your wish, I will do as you ask.  However, you will not be participating in any other activities while this is taking place.  You will sleep until you start the process again.”

“Why?” Victoria asked.”

“Because your mind will need the time to heal and establish connections to the new nerves.”

“How long will this take?”

“Anywhere from six to eight days.”

“How will we eat?”

“I’ll feed you intravenously.”

The two women looked at each other and Desiree came over and hugged Victoria, “We can do this together.”

Victoria hugged her as well and said, “I understand how sharing pain can bring people together.  I see why the men with us look at each other as brothers.”

Desiree smiled, “Tell it, sister.”  They climbed into the new cylinders and closed their eyes.  A moment later they went to hell.

• • •

Leo waited outside Gem’s ship and he finally came out, “How are they doing?”

“You know how they’re doing.  I must say that they made it much further on the first day than I thought they would.  I think their doing this together gives them more strength than they would have alone.”

“How long before…”

“It’s too early to say.  However, I don’t think it will take eight days.”

“Please keep me informed on how they’re doing.”

“I will.  They’re sleeping now and you should go and get some rest; you’re pushing yourself too hard.”

Leo sighed and nodded.  He turned and headed toward his quarters.  Gem turned and went back inside his ship.  He glanced at the two vessels being worked on as he entered the port and saw a lot of progress had been made.  He went back to the cylinders and continued to monitor them.

• • •

Victoria opened her eyes and immediately closed them.  The overhead lights were too bright for her to tolerate.  She tried to turn her head but the pain in her neck was also too much.  “Just lie still and don’t move for a few minutes,” she heard Gem say.  She heard a loud groan and knew that Desiree was also awake and struggling.  “I want both of you to start at your feet and move them slowly.  Once they stop hurting, start moving your hands.  Then I want you to start contracting your leg muscles slowly followed by your arms.  I’ll come back in an hour to check on you.”

Victoria followed his instructions and said loudly, “Are you ok, Desiree?”

“I wish someone had gotten the number of the transport that ran over me.”

Victoria smiled and winced before saying, “Why is that?”

“Because I’d blast it into fragments if I could move!  I thought he was going to keep us asleep until the pain passed.”

“Evidently, this is part of the process.  OW!  Sorry, that was my ankle.”

“You mean you can feel yours?  Mine is just a pain center sending out demons into my leg.”

“It’s the same, I just know it’s close to my foot.”

Victoria kept her eyes closed and heard Desiree repeating, “Focus, focus, focus!”  She began saying it as well and slowly started moving her legs and arms.

What felt like a century later, they heard Gem say, “Now I want you to start taking shallow breaths and gradually take deeper breaths as you adjust to the discomfort.”

Desiree said, “By discomfort you mean burning, raw, extreme pain, don’t you?”

Gem clacked and said, “Yes, something like that.”

Victoria finally asked, “Why does this hurt so much, Gem?”

“Your new nerves are finding connections with your body.  Once those connections are made, the pain will stop.  Moving will speed up the process and won’t increase the pain.”

“Easy for you to say.” Desiree replied.

“Yes, it is but the worst part is over.  Just stick with it a little longer.”

Thirty minutes passed and Desiree said, “Gem!”

“Yes.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask you.  How do you know our language so well?”

“I’ve spent a lot of time recording human conversations during my travels.”

“Why would you single out humans?” Victoria asked.

“I was following Victoria and observing her.  I found her very interesting.”

“Why is that?”

“Because she loved her life and shared that feeling with everyone she encountered.  I never knew her to show any sadness or anger toward anyone.”

Victoria slowly blew out a breath and said, “I’m not like her.  I’ve experienced a lot of sorrow.”

“You’re more like her than you know; now keep taking deeper breaths and start opening your eyes.”

• • •

Two hours later, Gem assisted them out of their modules and held on to their upper arms as they stumbled across the room.  He led them toward the exit port and Desiree said, “I need to sit down!”

“No, you don’t.  Keep your legs moving, we’re going for a little walk.”  Both women moaned as he continued to carry them out of his ship and down to the road leading out of the shipyard.  After fifteen minutes, Victoria and Desiree were able to take steps without being supported.  Within another thirty minutes they were walking without the excruciating pain.  They walked a mile out of the shipyard and Gem said, “Desiree, I want you to look to our right and Victoria, you take the left.”

“What am I looking for?” Victoria asked.

“I want you to just follow the pattern of the land around us and tell me if you see anything out of the ordinary.”

“It all looks like some kind of desert,” Desiree replied.”

“Just look at it and tell me if you notice anything,” Gem answered.

Four hundred yards later, Desiree stopped and pointed out into the dried out landscape, “Gem, that mound of soil looks out of place.”

“I’ve got one on my side as well,” Victoria quickly added.

Gem smiled, “Tell me what made them look out of place?”

Desiree shook her head slightly, “I don’t really know.  It’s just…just…they don’t fit the pattern of the ground around them.”  She turned to Gem, “What is that mound?”  Gem pulled a hand weapon off his belt and aimed it to the right of the mound.  He pulled the trigger and a large blast of dust shot up into the dry air beside the mound.  A huge creature that looked like a cross between a scorpion and tarantula came out of the mound and moved away almost too fast to follow.  “WHAT IS THAT THING!?” Desiree said loudly.

“It’s one of our local predators that preys on other animals out here.”

“Is that another one on my side of the road?” Victoria asked.

“It is.  It’s probably the mate of the one I scared off.  I want both of you to look at the other mound, focus on it, and tell me what you see.”

Both women squinted at the mound and Victoria said, “I see some kind of pale white stick or something sticking barely out of the ground above it.”

“Do you see it as well, Desiree?”

“I do.”

“That is the breathing tube that creature uses while it’s hiding underground.”

“Gem, that mound is more than five hundred yards away.  How am I able to see that small tube from here?” Victoria asked.

Gem turned around and started walking back toward the shipyard; the two women turned and walked beside him.  “Your bodies have been transformed from what they were before you started the processes.  Your eyesight has been greatly enhanced but you have to focus on using the enhancement.”  Desiree opened her mouth but Gem held up his arm, “Hold your questions until I finish.”  Desiree closed her mouth and nodded.  “If you want to see a distant object, you have to deliberately focus on it.  Pretty much all of your new talents will have to be deliberately used and won’t just appear at random.”

“What do you mean?” Victoria asked.

“Well, for example, your strength is greatly increased over that of a normal human but when you shake someone’s hand you won’t crush it.  You’ll have to deliberately squeeze harder for that to happen.  The same is true with how fast you can run, jump, or hit something.  You don’t have to worry about doing something extraordinary unless you make a willing decision to do so.”

Victoria and Desiree looked at each other and Desiree said, “What exactly do you mean by how fast we are?”

“That is the next part of your training and most of that is going to take place on Victoria’s ship when we leave here.  For now, we are going to take four or five walks a day until your new nerves completely connect to your brains.”

“What about this seeing something abnormal?”

“Victoria, your brain now see’s patterns in the images it receives from your eyes.  The new nerves transmit much faster and more information than before and your brain is able to decipher those images faster as well.  You will see things that you would ordinarily miss and that is not something you will have to focus on to use.”

“That’s why Leonidas saw the black vehicle with the man standing outside it?”

Gem smiled, “Exactly right.”

“Gem, do these changes increase our intelligence?”

“No, Desiree, but it will appear you’re a lot smarter.”

“Why is that?”

“Because you’re going to see patterns that others miss and that skill alone will make you seem much smarter.  Truth be told, most IQ tests humans use to measure intelligence are based on questions like, which one doesn’t belong in this group, or what is the next shape in this series.  They measure your ability to see patterns and relationships.  In that regard, you will be highly improved but your basic intelligence has not been changed.  You are the same persons coming out of the changes that you were going in.”

“Gem, I saw Leonidas knock two large crewmen on their butts on our Starliner faster than I could follow…”

“Victoria, both of you will have that ability when you complete your training.”

“Will we be able to go into a tavern and immediately see anyone that might represent a danger to us?” Desiree asked.

“You’ll be able to see anyone that’s focusing on you but that might be due to both of you being very beautiful females and nothing else.”

“Could we tell the difference between the two?”

“Over time, you will, Victoria.  But that comes with experience and you’ll only get better as time goes by.”

“Gem, I have some questions about you and the first Victoria.”

“I will not answer them.”

Victoria stopped walking and stared at him, “Why not?”

“Because that lies between her and me and I’ll not minimize it by sharing it.”

Victoria continued to stare at him and then relented as she turned and started walking toward the shipyard, “I think I understand.”

“Good.”

• • •

They were almost back at the entrance to the shipyard when they heard pop, pop, pop sounds off to the left, “What’s that?”

“That’s the two crews working on learning their small arms.”

“Shouldn’t we join them?”

Gem looked toward the mound and then turned back to them, “How do you feel.”

The two women looked at each other and Victoria said, “I’m tired but I’m not fatigued.  I can handle some more physical activity.  I really want to learn how to use our small arms”

“I do as well, Gem,” Desiree quickly said.

Gem twisted his head to the left and said, “I doubt either of you will ever need them but if you’re up to it, I’ll take you over.  Just don’t wear yourselves out.”  They entered the gate and turned toward the firing range.  Victoria and Desiree had to be assisted back to their quarters at the end of the day.  But…their accuracy with the new weapons astounded the rest of the crews.

• • •

“WHERE IS SHE?!” Serge screamed.

“Sir, she has dropped out of the universe.  She may have left this galaxy for another one in the distant known universe.”

“SHE WOULDN’T DO THAT!!”

“Why not, Sir?” the Chief asked.

“Because she would lose the value of the wealth she stole from me.  She won’t do that and if she attempts to convert it into precious metals or stones, I’ll immediately be informed if she does.  So far, that hasn’t happened in this galaxy.”

“She could convert it into currency used by the other galaxies that trade here.”

“The Unity allows only a few commercial trading companies to do business in this galaxy and they tightly control the flow of foreign currency.  I’m certain she will not go through the Unity to convert it.”

“Then we really only have one clue on where she, or the man she was with, might be going.”

“Oh?”

“She told her sister that she was going to see about using the man to make John Blakely pay for killing your double and Lyla.  Tortuga is where they will go if they’re going to make that happen.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to hire some pirates to keep an eye out for them and to contact us if they show up.”

“You don’t think you’re stretching here?  They have more wealth than they could ever use, why would they go after a pirate?” Serge asked.

“Emotions always trump wealth, Sir.  They’ll do something to make him pay for his actions.  They may pay someone else to do it but we’ll track whoever goes after Blakely back to them.”

Serge nodded and his Security Chief left his office.

Chapter Seven

Leonidas stood with Gem and stared at his newly modified warship.  He turned to Gem, “That looks like it just came off an assembly line.”

“There’s no help for that.  The metal used to make the twin hulls is brilliant when it’s molded into place.  Your two ships have actually been given a double hull because of the possibility of my being on either ship.”  Leo started to speak but Gem interrupted him, “We are going to paint both hulls with a special paint that is made of normal high strength alloy material.  The paint we use on your ship will make it look old again.”

“Why are you going to use special alloy paint?”

“Because your ships are going to be scanned and you don’t want the scanner to know that you have hulls made of the material we use on our warships.”

Leo nodded, “You’re right about that.  What happens if we’re attacked and some of the paint is blasted off the hull?”

“There will be a supply of it in storage and you can repaint it.  I’m going to assume that if you’re attacked that you will dispose of the attacker and not allow information about your inner hulls to get out.”

“How much can the hulls take?”

“A single hull can handle ten Unity Warship Blasters.  Your double hull should handle at least twice that number.  However, it is not indestructible!  If you’re attacked by a large fleet, run.”

“It would be nice if someone would develop a force field.”

Gem shook his triangular shaped head, “Force fields are not possible.  However, your hulls are the most advanced in our galaxy.  Your speed will also be much higher than a normal warship so don’t hesitate to use it if needed.”

“When do we start training on the weapon systems?”

“That will start in two days.”

Leo looked at Gem, “You finished faster than planned?”

“Forty-five days was still a long time.  My mother called in two more engineering teams and that is what sped up the process.  Your ship has caused my ship designers to start building a new model of twin hulled warships to match up with these two.  They’ve learned a lot from the process and are stronger for the effort.  Mother has conceded that this was worth doing with the additional power we’ll have in our new ships.”

“Victoria’s ship doesn’t have a blaster on its hull.” Leo said while comparing the two ships.”

“And your ship will only have two on its hull.  The others will be hidden inside the ship’s hull and will emerge if they’re needed.  Actually, Victoria’s ship is twice the size of yours and houses more blasters than your vessel.”

“That’s good.”  Leo looked at him, “I’ll notify the crews that we’ll be leaving in two days.  How are Victoria and Desiree coming along in their training?”

“They’re actually making faster progress than you did.”

“What?”

“I suspect sharing the experience with someone else makes both of them work harder to not fall behind.  You didn’t have that.”

“If I haven’t told you before, thank you!”

“You’re welcome.  But you should know that this mission is bringing me more excitement than I can say.  I really think it will be the most fun I’ve ever had.”  Leo smiled and wondered if that was a good thing.  “By the way, what is your pirate name going to be?”

Leo’s eyes went wide, “Name?”

“Well, you have to have a pirate name and a cover story when you waltz into Tortuga.  You better start working on that.”  Leo rolled his eyes and then nodded.  “I also need a name to put on your ship now.”

“I’m stumped on that.”

“Do you think there are military records on you?”

“I’m sure there are.”

“Well, it might not be a bad thing for others to know that you were a professional mercenary before the Unity disbanded the Legions.  They probably won’t know about your former CO being killed by Blakely’s ships.  It wasn’t registered to you.”

“Are you suggesting I name the ship and use a name that could be tracked back to my military records?”

“I am.  A large number of pirates are former mercenaries.  Some of them might know you on Tortuga.  Using a different name might cause you some problems.”

“Put the name Thermopylae on the ship.”

“And your name will be?”

“Leonidas Alexander.”

“The best disguise is one that’s real.  You can use your anger at having your Legion disbanded by the Unity as a reason for you to become a pirate.  The other good thing about doing it this way is your crew won’t slip up and accidently say something suspicious.”

“Blakely did see me on the ship he attacked,” Leonidas said absently.

“You can tell him you were going to attack it but he beat you to it.”

Leonidas smiled, “Now that is good thinking, Gem.”

“That’s what I’m here for, Leonidas.”

“What has Victoria chose for her ship’s name?  The last one was named ‘Life’s a Party’.”

“She chose, ‘Play Toy’.”

Leonidas laughed, “That fits.  I’m sure she’ll just tell anyone that knew her that she was bored with the older, smaller ship.”  Leonidas paused, “What’s going to happen if she runs into someone that knew her?”

“She’ll apologize for not remembering.  She’ll tell them that she’s met so many people during her party travels that it’s all just mush in her mind and ask where they knew her.  She’ll be able to fake her way through it.  Pretending to be intoxicated will make it easier to believe.”

“She needs to work on that.”

“Already playing the role.  You’ll see next time you see her.”

“Gem, are you alright?”

“I am.”  Leonidas stared at him and Gem raised both arms, “I’m as alright as I was when Victoria was still alive! I’ll be fine!”  Leonidas nodded and turned back to the ships.  Something was going on with Gem but he wasn’t saying what it was and he knew not to push it.

• • •

Desiree stood behind Larry, Arnold, and Joe as they questioned the Insectoid Engineer standing behind them.  Joe shook his head, “I’m not clear on how to fire a missile at a target.”

The Insectoid raised its head and clacked, then looked at them.  He pressed a button on their panels and said, “When you press this button, it allows you to go through training attack patterns and work with your weapons system.  No missile will be launched but the computer will track your results.  There is a glass cover over this button so you don’t accidently press it during battle.  Understand?”  The three nodded.  “If the ship’s Scanner Officer detects a possible enemy ship moving toward you, your panels will be activated automatically.  The one of you that’s in the optimum position to launch against the incoming ship will see the data start appearing on their display and the coordinates of the attacker will be fed to the first missile in the launch tube you control.  You will press the red, I repeat, the red button which will launch the missile when the green light illuminates on your panel.”

The three crewmen looked at each other and Larry said, “That seems easy enough.”

Desiree said, “It’s too easy.  Do not fire unless I give you orders to do so.”

Arnold raised his hand and said, “What if there are multiple attackers moving on us.”

“Your panels will be assigned the ones that you will fire on.  The data for each target will be sent to the corresponding missile in your tubes,” the Insectoid answered.

“How do the blasters figure into this?” Joe asked.

“The blasters will be used on approaching ships first.  The missiles will be fired if the blasters fail to take the targets out.”  Larry opened his mouth and the Insectoid quickly said, “If a target on your panel is destroyed by the blasters, the data for the missile assigned to it will automatically be changed to a different target,” the Insectoid answered.

Desiree looked at the engineer, “The blasters have a longer range than the missiles?”

“No, they don’t.  But you have a finite supply of missiles and the blasters can be recharged.”  Desiree nodded.  The Engineer continued, “If you find you are highly outnumbered, then start taking them out with missiles first to lower their numbers before they move into their blaster’s range.  That will be a decision that you will make and enter into your weapon command system.  You can always return here and have your missiles replaced if you run low.  I trust that you will attempt to run from any superior force attacking you but this is the tactics you should use if you can’t.”

Desiree nodded, “Can you start some practice attacks for them to work on?”

The Engineer smiled and lifted an electronic unit off his belt.  He pressed a button and the three crewmen heard from their panels, “Enemy vessels approaching.  This is not a drill, prepare to launch!”  Desiree watched the three work hard to keep up with the attackers and after each session, they began showing remarkable improvement.  Within four days, they were working together and even high numbers of attackers were not getting close to the ship.  Desiree asked the engineer before he left the ship, “Will the missiles we launch be seen by an attacker?”

“The missile ports will open and close in less than a second.  The missiles are only ten feet long and will present a frontal profile of less than three feet.  Most scanners won’t pick them up until they’re less than five miles out.  They will be moving too fast for the target ship to do anything before they hit.  The missiles are programmed to fly away from their targets before turning toward them and won’t be tracked as having come from your ship.  I suspect the ship they hit will believe they were fired from another ship.”

“And if there’s no hiding we’re armed?”

“Then you can change the missiles programming on your panel to go straight at their targets.”

“I can see why the Unity leaves your species alone,” Desiree remarked.

The Engineer clacked and said, “We intend to keep it that way.  We’ve learned a lot building these two ships and we’re changing a number of things in our newer warships that we learned during this process.  You have an excellent ship, Captain.  Keep it safe.”

“I will do everything in my power to do exactly that.”  The Insectoid walked away and Desiree realized that the Insectoids didn’t look so scary anymore.  She discovered she liked them a lot and knew there was no deception in their dealings with others.  She welcomed that trait after her dealings with humans.

The Insectoid Engineer was also changed.  He thought the humans were little more than intelligent animals but found them to be something different.  He initially thought the Prince wanting to go out with them was the highest form of lunacy…but now…he wished he were going with them.  He got his wish.

• • •

The Prince called the Engineer to his ship and he bowed as he stepped into Gem’s quarters, “Please rise.  My mother has forwarded your report on the humans to me.  It appears you have developed a good working relationship with them.”

“They were more than I expected, Highness.”

“Are you mated yet?”

The Engineer jerked, “No, Majesty, I am not.  Why do you ask such a personal question?”

“I am going to send you out with the second ship.”

“What?”

“I feel they might need your expertise if things go bad.  Are you willing to do it?”  The Engineer thought about his current status and saw no one on the horizon he was interested in choosing as a mate.  The Prince clacked his laughter and smiled, “Come on.  You’ll be able to see these new ships in action and your knowledge will be invaluable to the Realm.  Would you rather be working on building new ships?”

The Engineer thought about the remark and clacked, “Count me in, Majesty.”

“Good!  I’ll notify Leonidas later this evening that you will be joining his crew.  I need you ready to leave by then so tie up any loose ends before our meeting.  What do you wish to be called by the Humans?”

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“They are unable to pronounce your name.  They call me Gem, which is a valuable shiny stone.”

“Then they can call me Gold.  That’s a shiny metal I’ve heard they value.”

Gem clacked loudly in laughter, “Now that is a great choice.  You’re going to have an incredible adventure.”

Gold clacked heartily, “I believe I am.  How am I going to explain my presence on their ship?”

“You’ll say that you’ve been banished from the Realm for killing a minor member of the Royal Family.”

“But we never kill each other, Highness?”

“Trust me on this, no one knows that but us.  Your cover will work among humans and any other alien species you encounter.  It will cause others to fear you when they hear what you did.”

“I guess that makes sense.  If I killed a member of the Royal Family, I would have no qualms about killing anyone else.”

“Exactly.  I want you to stay in contact with me and keep me informed on what’s happening.”

“I will, Highness.”

• • •

That evening, the two crews gathered in Victoria’s building for a farewell party.  Gem appeared with another Insectoid and Desiree walked over to them.  She looked at the Engineer and said, “You look familiar.”

“I’m the one that trained your crew on their weapons.”

Leonidas walked up and Gem said, “Gold will be going with your ship, Leonidas.”

Leonidas looked at the Engineer and said, “Why?”

“Because you may need assistance in operating the various weapon systems on your ship and no one knows them better than Gold.”

“How will I explain his presence?”

Gold said, “I killed a member of the Royal Family and have been banished from the Realm.”

Leonidas smiled and nodded, “Now that is a good story.  Welcome aboard, Gold.  I’m glad to have you.”

Desiree smiled, “He’s good, Leonidas.”

“Thank you, Captain,” Gold replied.

Leonidas smiled, “Come and join us.  I’ll introduce you to my crew.”

Victoria staggered up and put her arm on Desiree’s shoulder to keep her balance as she said in a slow drawl to Gem, “Dahling, who is this…this fine specimen of an Insectoid?”

“My name is Gold.”

“Well it’s good to meet you, Fold.”

“No, it’s Gold.”

Leonidas chuckled, “She knows.  She’s just practicing her role.”

Gold looked at Gem as he said, “I’ll explain it later.”  Gold twisted his head to the right indicating some confusion and followed them to the gathering.

• • •

Later that night, Leonidas was sitting in a chair watching the two crews celebrating the end of their training.  Victoria and Desiree had been danced off their feet and Desiree finally called a halt and said loudly, “I need a break!”

Victoria looked at her and yelled, “You big baby.  Come on guys, whose next?”

Desiree walked over to Leonidas and sat down in a chair beside him.  Leonidas smiled and said, “You have a good crew.”

“That I do.” 

Desiree sighed quietly and Leonidas turned to her, “What’s bothering you.”

“I’ve been debating whether or not I should share some private information with you.”

He stared at her and, after a moment said, “I don’t think we should have secretes between us.”

Desiree looked at him and furrowed her brow, “I didn’t tell you the entire truth about my choosing to go with Victoria.”

“What did you omit?”

“You said that Mark told you that he didn’t want me to go with him because he felt I should settle down and leave the life of war we’d been living.”

“That’s right.”

“He wasn’t being honest with you.”

Leo’s eyes narrowed, “He never lied to me, Desiree.”

“That wasn’t a lie, either.  But he wasn’t telling you everything and though it wasn’t an outright lie, it was misleading.”

“I’m not sure I understand.”

“You always thought that I requested to join Mark’s staff because of how I felt about him.”

“I did.”

“The truth was that he made me promise that I would never tell you the real reason.”  Leo stared at her.  “I requested to join Mark’s staff so I could be near you.  Even after our unit was disbanded he did not relieve me of my promise and he wouldn’t allow me to go with the two of you because he thought I would ultimately take you away from him.  I chose to go with Victoria’s ship because I knew that, if the going got really tough, I would do everything in my power to prevent you from being harmed and that might cause me to make bad decisions.  Mark knew I cared for you and would not allow me to express it; I had to be satisfied with just being near you.  He flew away with you before I could tell you.”

Leonidas stared at her with his mouth open as Desiree stood up, “I just thought you should know.”  She walked away and left the room’s entrance for her ship where, she went directly to her quarters.

Victoria was watching them and saw something happen to the pattern.  Something important had been said and she wondered what it was.  But Barney picked her up off the floor and swung her around.  When she looked back at Leonidas, he was gone.

• • •

Leonidas left the party and went to the Thermopylae.  He sat in his quarters and began replaying all the memories from the past.  He never saw Desiree close to Mark.  He remembered catching her staring at him numerous times and didn’t really think about it.  He remembered Mark calling him to the warship he was given before the announcement about the unit being disbanded.  Desiree was right.  Mark kept him in the dark about her feelings.  Quite frankly, he never had feelings for Desiree because he thought of her as being Mark’s woman.  He didn’t know what to think or how to feel about this.  One thing he did know, Mark was being incredibly selfish.  His rage at Mark’s death underwent a sudden change.  Mark was a manipulator and he never knew it.  He suspected Desiree told him in order for him to decide if going after Blakely was something he was committed to doing.  And what should he do about Desiree now that she had told him how she felt?  He didn’t know.  He just…didn’t know.

• • •

The crews finally had enough and decided it was time to report to their ships.  They sang all the way out to the two entry ports and Victoria sang with them.  Once they stumbled to their quarters, Victoria went to Desiree’s cabin and knocked lightly on her door.  Desiree opened the door and Victoria said, “May I come in?”  Desiree nodded and Victoria walked in.  “What happened between you and Leonidas?”

Desiree’s face showed a flash of anger and then she blew out a slow breath, “I guess I should tell you; we’re going to have to work together for a while.  I told him that our former CO had deliberately kept me from telling Leo how much I cared for him over the years.”

“What?”

“He didn’t want Leonidas distracted, he was the best unit commander in Mark’s Unit.  I requested a transfer to his staff and he told me he’d approve it but that I could not allow Leonidas to know about my feelings.”  Victoria stared at her with narrow eyes.  “Anyway, he told me I could tell him if he ever left the service.”

“And when your unit was disbanded?”

“He took Leonidas to his warship and made the announcement from space.  He immediately flew away and never gave me the chance.”

“So you told him tonight?”

“I did.”

“Why?”

“Because he needed to know before he went out and risked his life trying to kill the pirate that murdered Mark.”  Victoria started shaking her head and Desiree quickly said, “Don’t get me wrong, Mark was an outstanding Commanding Officer and he did what needed doing to insure the security and safety of the Legion.  However, taking Leonidas away was a purely selfish act.  He did it because he knew his chances of survival were improved with Leonidas on board his ship.  He could have brought me along but chose to leave me and the rest of the unit on Regulus.  He also went through the difficulty of changing all the communicator’s frequencies before he lifted.”

“What did Leonidas say?”

“Nothing.”  Desiree stared at Victoria and lowered her eyes, “Victoria, do you have a crush on Leo?”

“I’m not really sure, Desiree.”

“Come on; that’s not something that’s hard to figure out.”

“Look, he saved my life after we landed and kept me safe while others were trying to kill or capture me.  You have to understand that he looks like a knight in shining armor to me,” Victoria answered.

“Does he know your feelings?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, let’s do this.  You can tell him if you want so he knows that both of us are interested in his companionship.  Then we’ll both agree to do nothing to gain an advantage in getting him.  He will make the choice and whoever loses will shake the hand of the winner and move on.”

“But you’ve been pursuing him for years; I’ve only just met him.”

“Telling me I have seniority is like telling a bride her future husband’s girlfriend had dibs first.  Feelings are feelings and his feelings are the important ones here.  He was probably developing something for you while he knew nothing about what Mark had done to me.  You and I have shared a special time of suffering and I’ve grown close to you.  We’ll let nature take its course as you and I make sure we remain friends.  Besides, you can offer more than me.”

“How’s that?” Victoria asked.

“You’re incredibly wealthy and I’m just a poor former mercenary.  He should choose you.”

Victoria reached out and hugged Desiree, “You should know that you are going to leave this mission with a very large chunk of my wealth.  He’ll decide based on what his heart tells him and don’t think either of us have a lock on him.  He could fall for a Pirate Princess on Tortuga and leave us both in the cold.”

“Won’t happen!” Desiree said.

“Why not?”

“Look up Pirate Princess in the database and see what sort of images appear.  Gem looks better than most of them.”

Victoria burst out laughing and said, “There is also a chance we could find another during our travels.”

“I hope you’re right.  This constant heartbreak is something I want behind me.”

Victoria hugged her again and said, “Try to get some sleep.  I’ll see you in the morning.”  Desiree nodded and Victoria left her quarters.  She walked to her cabin and wondered if she was capable of playing nice with Desiree in pursuing Leonidas.  She was raised by a family that was ruthless in its dealings with others.  She had learned from the best and was finding it hard not to plot on how to win Leo.  She sighed; Desiree had to deal with her heartbreak and she had to deal with developing scruples.  She wondered which was more difficult.

Chapter Eight

Leo looked at Victoria and Desiree on his console’s display and smiled, “Well, I hope the two of you have a good time going out to party.”

“Actually, I was wondering if you had a problem if we delay that for a while,” Desiree replied.”

“What will you do instead?”

“That will depend on your plans, Sir.  Are you going to immediately go to Tortuga or do something else first?”

“I’m not going there immediately.  I’m going to take some time to get my crew acclimated to the ship’s systems and work on developing a good cover story.  Gold is going to work with each weapon team to make them proficient before we take that planet on.  Why do you ask?”

“I’ve been thinking that showing up after a long absence from the party planets might cause some questions.  Victoria was well known and we’ll need a cover for that missing time.  We also need to take advantage of anything that will keep her away from the Romanov Searchers as long as possible.”  Desiree paused and then said, “I think we should leave this galaxy and go out to another one and visit some of its tourist hot spots.  That way we can say that she has been away exploring new places to have fun.”

“That sounds like a good idea.”

“We will, of course, have to visit some of those planets so our cover won’t be blown by anyone that has actually been out of the galaxy but it will also give us time for Gem to train us on our new physical talents.”

Leo smiled, “That’s a very good plan, Desiree.  Victoria, what do you think about this?”

“I’m all for it.  However, both of us agree that we want to be close when you decide to go to Tortuga, just in case you need a second ship in the event things go south.”

“Let’s do this,” Leo replied.  “I expect this mission to take a while so for the next six to nine months, I’m going to build a cover story for my ship as well.  If we’re going in as pirates, we need to be able to have stories, true stories that can be verified, about how we’ve taken ships and terrorized them.  That will take some time and that should give you enough time to complete your physical training and visit enough planets outside this galaxy to give substance to your cover.  I want you to also realize that if you get in a tight place, you should contact me as well.  It will take some time to get to your location but use me if the situation calls for it.”

“Actually, when we return, you could use us as one of your stories.  You could say that you forced Victoria to pay a huge ransom for you to release her and that would give you funds you might need on Tortuga.”

Leo smiled, “Now that is a good idea, Desiree.  Stay in touch.”

Victoria smiled, “You do the same.”

“I suspect Gold and Gem will be staying in contact so if you don’t hear from me just check with Gem.  I don’t know how they do it but their communicators are far beyond what we have.”

“I wonder why they didn’t install their communication system on our ships.” Desiree said.

Leo raised his shoulders, “I suspect it would allow us to hear all of their communications and the Insectoids are leery of doing that.”

Desiree shrugged, “You’re probably right.  Good luck and we’re boosting out in ten minutes.”

“We’re leaving in an hour after all of our missiles are brought on board.  Be careful.”  The display went dark and Leo sighed.  Desiree wasn’t showing any emotion.  She was so brilliant in devising tactics and he wondered how she would be if she let her hair down and relaxed.  Shoot he wondered how he’d be if he did the same.  He looked over his shoulder, “Barney, how’s the loading going?”

“We’ll be done on time, Sir.”

“Can the calling me ‘Sir’, Barney and pass that on to the rest of the crew.  Address me as Captain.”

“Yes…Captain.  What rank am I?”

“First mate.”

“That sounds kinda…I don’t know…”

Leo laughed, “Get used to it.”

“Arggg, I will, Captain.  I’m going below decks and beat the hostages.”

“Barney, I think you might be getting into this pirate’s role a little too…”

“What?  We don’t have hostages?”

“We also don’t have below decks, Barney.”

“Then we’ll have to build some, Captain.  Below decks is where all the pirates have their fun.”

Leo laughed and Barney left the bridge.  Embree looked up from his panel, “Permission to go below decks, Captain.”

Leo looked at him, “Drank a little too much last night, Embree?”

“Which one of the three of you said that, Captain?”

“Go and lie down for a while.  I’ll call you when it’s time to boost.”

“Thank you, Captain.”

Carl looked at him as he walked off the bridge, “Big baby!  Can’t hold your booze!”

Embree paused and looked at Carl, “I yield to the professional drinker.  I have no idea how you can drink that much and still stand up.”

“Lad, most of it wasn’t vodka, it was water.”

“Where did you get water!?” Embree asked.

“I carry a bottle in my pouch.”

Embree rolled his eyes and almost fell.  He grabbed a console next to him and groaned, “I’ve been deceived, betrayed, and laid low.”

“Be thankful you’ve learned how to do it.  All it cost you for the lesson was one good hangover.”

“It’s not worth it.”  Embree turned and stumbled off the bridge.

Leonidas laughed and took a stack of white cards and put them in a lock compartment under his console.  He hesitated before he closed it, reached into his backpack, took out a purple colored card, and put it with the white cards.  This new identity would not support carrying a purple card.  He felt almost naked without it but knew it had to be done.  He decided that he needed to go to see someone before he started this new life.

• • •

An hour later, Barney said over the bridge’s loud speaker from the landing bay, “Everything is stored and the ship is ready to go.”

Leonidas looked at Carl, “Take the ship out and enter Kellenger’s coordinates in the stardrive.”

“Captain, is it safe to go there after what’s happened?”

“This ship is not listed on any Unity records.  Armed ships go to Kellinger on a regular basis and I think we’ll be safe.”  Leo sat back in the command chair and watched the ship lift from the berth holding it and rise into the morning sky.  It reached orbit and boosted toward the filament.  The first intersection was an hour away.

• • •

They arrived at the intersection where twenty filaments crossed each other and the ship moved to a large filament headed toward the Kellinger Filament.  Leo pulled a number up on his communicator and scrolled down to a number he had taken from Ana’s communicator.  He pressed it and saw a face appear on the small display, “Do you remember me?”

“I do.”

“I want to have a private meeting with you.  Will you do it?”

“When will you arrive?”

“How do you know I’m not there now?”

“I have my ways.”

“I should be there in another twelve hours.”

“Go to a restaurant named the Grove.  I’ll be waiting for you there in twelve hours.”

“Thank you.”

Leo sighed and sat back in his chair.  He closed his eyes and felt the headache pounding in his head.  He would be carrying a bottle of water in the future.  He had way too much to drink the night before and he wouldn’t be doing that again.

• • •

“Please state the nature of your visit to Kellinger?” sounded out of the loud speaker.

Leo leaned forward and pressed a button on his panel connecting him with Kellenger’s Traffic Control, “I am meeting someone for a short meeting and then I’ll be leaving.”

“Your ship is an armed vessel and you will park in the outer most orbit with the other armed ships.”

“Thank you.”

“Do you require a shuttle to go to the surface?”

“No, I’ll be taking my own.”

“Is your shuttle armed?”

“The one I’m taking is not.”

“You are approved to land.  What location will you be going to?”

“The Grove Restaurant in the main city.”

“A parking place has been designated for your arrival and the coordinates will follow.”

“Thank you, Traffic Control.”

“You’re welcome.”

• • •

“Sir…I mean, Captain, there is an armed Romanov Warship holding orbit close to our assigned orbital location.  We are currently being scanned by it.”

“Let me know if they move.”

“They are holding position, Captain.”

Leo looked at Barney, “You have the ship.”  Barney nodded and moved to the command chair.  Leo stood and left the bridge for the landing bay.  He arrived and saw the shuttle was powered and ready for launch, “Nick, I want to exit the port side.”

The landing bay door began opening and Leo smiled.  The Romanov Warship was on the starboard side and would not have a view into the bay.  He knew the commander of the warship wouldn’t like that but there wasn’t anything he could do about it.  He entered the shuttle and heard Barney say over his communicator, “The Romanov Warship is powering up and is moving around to our port side.”

Leo quickly exited the ship and Nick had the landing bay door closed before the warship could arrive to scan the interior of the landing bay.  Leo saw the warship slow and then move back to its former location.  Good.  Now his ship was in the Romanov database and he was certain Traffic Control would be queried on who owned the vessel.  The Thermopylae’s transponder would show it listed to one Leonidas Alexander.  The search of his name should turn up his history and whoever was working behind the scenes in the Romanov Organization should also learn who he is.  That information might be passed along to John Blakely and it could possibly cause him to be approached by the Spider.  The first part of his cover was now in place.  The coming meeting should nail it down.

• • •

He arrived at the Grove and the Maître d’ greeted him at the door, “May I assist you?”

“I’m meeting someone.”  Leo saw a hand raised in the back of the restaurant and smiled, “There he is.”

The Maître d’ turned and stared across the restaurant, turned back to Leonidas and smiled, “Enjoy your dinner.”

Leo walked to the table and heard, “You’re right on time.”

“Thank you, Kenneth.  I appreciate your meeting with me.”

“I expect us to be recorded rather quickly.”

Leo looked around and didn’t see anything in the pattern.  He quickly said, “I want you to not mention anything about a purple card.”

“I can do that.  How is Ana?”

“You also need to say nothing about her.  What is your relationship to her?”

“What do you mean?”

“We don’t have long to talk openly.  A Romanov Warship is parked close to my ship and I’m pretty certain they’re assigned someone to follow me.  They should learn from Traffic Control that I came here.  I don’t have time to waste so you need to start talking before we’re recorded.”

“Why do you say we have a relationship?”

“Because you were picked up immediately after we left you the first time.  Someone knows you have an interest in her.  What is it?”

“Will you not tell her?”

“I will keep the information secret.”

“She’s my daughter.”

“What!?”

“My wife left me when she and her sister were babies.  She sold them to Serge.  I found out and he managed to convince me that they would have a better life with him than with a single parent.  I was given the position with the Treasury so I could have some contact with her.”

Leo looked out at the restaurant and visually scanned the room.  He jerked his eyes back to the entrance and saw a well-dressed couple enter.  He turned back to Kenneth and narrowed his eyes.  Kenneth looked at the door and saw the couple.  The woman glanced their way and he turned back to Leo and slightly nodded.  “How may I be of assistance, Mr.?”

“Alexander.  Leonidas Alexander.”

“What do you require?”

“I have come into possession of some funds that I need you to put in a safe place where I can access them from time to time.”

Kenneth stared at Leo and said with his head tilted, “Were these funds acquired legally?”

“Does it really matter?”

“Did you acquire these funds in the Unity’s Territory?”

“No.”

“Then no, it doesn’t matter.”

“I may be coming back from time to time to deposit more.”

Leo saw Kenneth wanted to ask questions but he stayed in role, “There will be a charge to handle this.”

“That’s fine.”

Kenneth stared at Leo and remembered that Ana had said that he was going after the pirate that killed Lyla.  He lowered his eyes, “You do know that Tortuga has banks that could handle this?”

“I don’t go there and I don’t trust their banks.  I prefer to operate alone.”

“How did you get my name?”

The question startled Leo but he recovered and smiled, “Now that is something I will keep to myself but the one who recommended you is someone I trust to give me good information. Was he right?”

“I’m certainly more expensive than most you might deal with but I can assure you your funds will be safe in the Unity’s Treasury and you will have immediate access to them.”

Leo smiled, “Good.”  He reached into his pocket and pulled out a white card, “This is the current account I have them in and I want you to transfer them into one of your accounts immediately.”

“If I might ask, how much are we talking about?”

“Seven million credits.”

Kenneth took his communicator out of his coat pocket and pushed the card into the bottom of it.  He looked at the display and pressed some buttons.  After the communicator beeped, he took the card out and handed it back to Leo.  He pressed another button and after three beeps, another white card came out of the bottom of his communicator.  He handed it to Leo and smiled, “I’ve taken a hundred thousand for the initial establishment of your account.  This card will allow you to access your account at any electronic banking module.”

“Do I have to come back here to make deposits?”

“No, you do not,” Kenneth answered.  “You can make the transfer at any banking module and they will go into your account.  Of course, there will be a small fee for the transaction.”

Leo lowered his eyes, “Exactly how small?”

“One half of one percent of the total.”

“That’s fine.”  Leo stood up and Kenneth quickly said, “Don’t leave; I’m paying for your dinner.”

Leo laughed, “At the rate you charged me, you should.  However, I’m not really comfortable hanging out here and need to get back to my ship.  Thank you for your assistance.”

“Let me know if I can help you in the future.”

“I will.”  Leo turned and left the restaurant.  The couple tried hard not to be noticed but they failed.  Their pattern did not match the others and it was clear they were there for reasons other than enjoying a meal. 

Kenneth sat back and waited for his meal to arrive and saw the woman’s mouth moving out of the corner of his eye.  Her companion was not looking at her and he knew she was reporting to someone.  He did know that the account Mr. Alexander had given him was not the one he had originally established during their first meeting.  That meant the funds had been moved and he no longer had to worry about the original account being found.  He knew Ana was safe.  If she weren’t then Mr. Alexander would have told him.  He sat back and enjoyed his dinner.  He didn’t notice when the couple got up and left the restaurant.

• • •

“Sir, that shuttle is returning from the planet.”

“Move us around to the port side of that vessel.”  The Romanov Warship moved out of its assigned location and moved around the Thermopylae.  It arrived as the shuttle turned suddenly and flew into the starboard landing bay doors.  The commander smiled, this owner was a sly one.  He saw the ship’s systems energize and he kept his ship to the starboard side as it turned and boosted away toward the filament.  Why had he been prevented from scanning inside the landing bay?  He thought about following it but decided that if the Daughter showed up in his absence, he would have a heavy price to pay.  He sent the scans to the Romanov Security Department and moved his ship back to its assigned location.

• • •

The Security Chief stared at the scans made of the armed ship and listened to the conversation with the Treasury Banker again.  This was something out of the ordinary and things like that always raised his suspicions.  The ship was not on any registry in the Unity.  It was previously owned by a commercial company that sold it several years back and it was about twenty years old.  Evidently, this new owner bought it and had the two blasters installed after the purchase.   The situation looked tame on the surface but that pirate had come directly to Ana’s father to deposit funds.  Where would he have run across anyone that would recommend him?  Could this have something to do with her disappearance?  He said, “Computer, do a search of all bankers licensed to open accounts at the Unity’s Treasury on Kellinger and show me the list.”

A list appeared on his monitor and he started at the top and scrolled down; the last name on the list was Ana’s father.  Ummm.  If that pirate had done the same search, he would have seen the last name on the list and probably would have chosen it.  He sat back and thought about it.  The pirate would have figured that all the names above Ana father’s name would get the bulk of business from those that made the same search.  He would only receive what trickled down.  The pirate wanted someone who was hungry for deposits and would be willing to turn a blind eye as to how the funds were procured.  The pirate probably made up someone recommending him and trusted the computer’s list to turn him toward a banker willing to work with him.  If his name wasn’t the last one, then that would have created an entirely different dynamic.  But it was last and it made sense that someone wanting to go unnoticed would chose that name.

He looked at the pirate’s name on the ship’s registry and said, “Computer, do a search of Unity records for anyone with the name Leonidas Alexander.”

“There is no one with that name.”

“Then look up anyone with the first name of Leonidas.”

“Ten names appear.”

“Show them to me.”  The Chief stared at the list and said after a moment, “The fifth one on the list is named Leonidas Alexander Piper.  Why didn’t you initially give that to me?”

“Because Alexander is not his last name.”

“How should I have asked the question?”

“You should have asked me to search Unity Records for a name with those two terms in it.”

The Security Chief rolled his eyes.  Dealing with computers could be maddening.  But they could only do what they were programed to do.  “Pull the records of this person and recite them to me.”

“Colonel Leonidas Alexander Piper served in the Tenth Mercenary Legion Commanded by General Mark Anderson.  He was considered the Legion’s top combat officer and was awarded the following medals by the planets that hired the Legion…”

“Skip the list of metal.”

“He fought in twenty major campaigns on twelve different planets over thirteen years and was instrumental in the victory on Regulus.  It was after that Victory that Regulus asked for membership in the Unity and the Tenth Legion was disbanded.  There are no further records on him since that time.”

“I understand that the fighting on Regulus was brutal.”

“Of the Six Legions of mercenaries hired by the Planet’s Government, more than sixty percent of them were killed in the fighting.”

“What percent were lost by the Tenth Legion?”

“Fifteen percent.”

“Were they involved in the heavy fighting?”

“They were in the center of the front lines during the defense of the Capital.  They broke through the lines of the attackers and allowed the other legions to roll them up and defeat them.  According to written accounts of the battle, it was his battalion that led the breakout and the Mercenaries called him Leonidas the Great after the war concluded six weeks later.”

“Is there anything else?”

“Regulus did not pay the Legions after the conclusion of the war.  They asked to join the Unity and the Unity Fleet that arrived ordered the Legions disbanded and confiscated their weapons preventing them from taking what they were owed.  It also prevented them from continuing to sell their services to other planets.”

The Security Chief’s eyes narrowed.  This pirate was a former mercenary commander who was considered one of the best.  He had little doubt that the crew of his ship were former mercenaries that served with him and that made his ship incredibly dangerous.  He could understand why this Leonidas would turn to piracy after the betrayal on Regulus.  He would have no love for the Unity and even less for planetary governments.

He wondered why the pirate had said he did not go to Tortuga or trust their banks.  He had to think of himself as a warrior and above the scum of pirates that frequented Tortuga.  He had a mission to make the Unity pay for what it did and piracy was the means he intended to use to do it.  Now all the pieces fit and he could put it aside.  This pirate had nothing to do with the disappearance of Ana.  He sat back and said, “Put this ship’s contact information on the list of possible assets.”

“The ship Thermopylae has been added to the list.”

“Notify all of our sources to report any activity that this ship might be involved in the future.”

“Message put on the cue for delivery.”

He would keep an eye on this ship.  One never knew when a good pirate might be needed.  He might use him to go to Tortuga to keep an eye out for Ana’s possible appearance.  That appeared to be the only avenue left open to find her.  She had disappeared and he was no closer to finding her.

Chapter Nine

Desiree sat in the command chair and stared at the filament intersection ahead of them.  Victoria was sitting in a duplicate chair next to her and said, “What’s the plan?”

“According to the Cartian Map, there is a major filament two intersections away that we can hop on and leave this galaxy at high speed.”

“Are we in a hurry?”

“Not really, but we do have a nine month deadline.  We’ll need to visit as many planets as possible outside our galaxy before we come back.  We really should get to another galaxy quickly and start that process.”

Gem stepped through the bridge’s portal and said, “It’s time.”

Desiree turned to Jack and said, “You have the ship.  I’ve entered the filament we want to take and let me know when we arrive.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Jack, you need to address me as Maid Desiree and Victoria as My Lady.”

“Maid?”

“I will be her personal maiden and will be at her beck and call.  I will be acting subservient to her and you should address all your dialogue toward her.  I should go pretty much unnoticed whenever we leave the ship.”

“Yes, Maid Desiree.”

Desiree stood up, “That’s better.”  Victoria stood up with her and they left the bridge for Gem’s lab.  Desiree smiled as they arrived, “I’ve been looking forward to this, Gem.”

Gem clacked before saying, “This is going to take some focus.  It won’t be painful but it will be one of the most difficult things you’ve ever done.”

“What do we do first?” Victoria asked.

Gem pressed a button on his console and two man sized figures emerged from the floor, “I want each of you to move to one of the figures and assume a normal stance in front of it.”  They followed his instructions and Gem pointed at the monitor on the wall, “These figures are wired to display how much force is used when you strike them.  If you hit them hard enough to knock them down without harming them physically, a white number one will appear on the monitor.  If you hit them hard enough to do them physical harm, a green number two will appear.  If you hit them hard enough to kill them, a red number three will appear.”

“Really?”

“Yes really.  Under the number a list will appear of any damage you do.  Victoria, why don’t you start; hit the figure in the middle of its chest and let’s see what happens.”  Victoria pulled her arm back and Gem quickly corrected her, “Don’t pull your arm back.  Go straight from having your hands hanging by your sides.”

Victoria lowered her arm and stood in front of the figure.  Suddenly, she made a fist and hit the figure in the chest area.  A black screen with a zero on it appeared.  “What does that mean?” Victoria asked.

“It means all you did was make it angry if it were a real life situation.  This time, focus on your hand and try it again.”

“Should I do it with a fist?”

“Yes.  We’ll work on using your fingertips, a flat palm, and elbows later.”

Victoria stared at the figure and suddenly swung her fist from her side into the figure.  Her fist went completely through the figure and a large red three appeared on the monitor with heart, backbone, liver, kidneys, lungs, and stomach listed under it.

Both of the women’s eyes went wide as Victoria said, “I didn’t swing that hard!”

“I didn’t see you hit it!” Desiree said shaking her head.

“That’s going to be what you have to work on.  If you had hit a living person, you would have killed them instantly.”

“But I didn’t swing that hard!”

Gem clacked, “You are going to have to learn to hit to a specific depth.  Focus on where you want to strike the figure and focus on how deep you want your hand to go.”

“How do I do that?”

“You’ll sense when you make contact with the surface of the figure; stop immediately if you want to just cause them to be knocked out of the confrontation.  I want both of you to work on doing just that.  Hit the figures in various places starting with the chin and working your way down the body.  Try to score a one on each strike.”

“What happens if we decide to really put some effort into the strike?” Desiree asked.

“In a real life situation you’ll probably make a huge mess as various organs and bones splatter out of the body.”

“How are we just going to debilitate an attacker?” Victoria asked.

“Victoria, as your training progresses, the figures you will be using to train on will have special pressure points marked on them that you will press to take them down.”

“Do you think they’ll stand still for me to reach forward and press them?” Desiree asked.

“You will also need to learn how to use your superior speed.”

“What do you mean?”

“Both of you come over to the table in the corner.”  They walked over to the table and Gem placed a small red ball in the center.  “Victoria, I want you to observe Desiree but don’t focus on her.  Just use your normal vision.”  Victoria nodded.  “Now, Desiree, I want you to stand here and take the ball off the table as quickly as you can.  Focus on it first and then reach forward and take it off the table.  Start with your hands by your side and end with them in the same place.”

Desiree stood beside the table and focused on the red ball.  She reached out for it and took it to her side.  She smiled and looked at Victoria whose eyes were wide open.  “What?”

Victoria’s mouth was open and she said, “I didn’t see you move.”

Desiree’s head went back and Gem said, “Victoria, you do it now and Desiree, you observe without focusing.”  Victoria grabbed the ball and Desiree’s eyes went wide.  They looked at Gem and he said, “You will have no trouble pressing a pressure point before anyone can react.  Matter of fact, you probably won’t be seen doing it.  The person will just appear to collapse in front of you.”

Victoria looked at Gem, “I saw Leonidas drop two large crewmen on the Starliner and never saw him move.”

“He was a good student.  You will be able to do that as well once you master using your new talents.  But before you can run, you must first learn to crawl.  I only want to see Ones on the monitor.  You may start now.”

They went back to the figures and a new one rose out of the floor to replace the one Victoria broke in half.  It took eight days before they could consistently make a One appear on the monitor.

• • •

Leonidas sat in the command chair on the Thermopylae and saw a passing Romanov Commercial Freighter was scanning his ship on the filament.  They were interested in him.  He pressed the ship’s intercom and said, “Gold, please come to the bridge.”

A few minutes later, Gold came through the portal, “Your crew is making extraordinary progress in using their weapon panels.”

“They have an excellent instructor.  I need you to discuss an issue with me.”

“What is that?”

“I need to build a cover of being a pirate.  That means I will probably have to go out and attack some vessels to steal from them.  I’m reluctant to do that.”

Gold stared at him for a moment and then said, “Why?  You’ve killed in the past.”

“I’ve killed those that were trying to kill me.”

“Not always.  You killed those that you were contracted to kill as a mercenary.”

“I know.  But this is different.  I just don’t want to kill someone that poses no threat to me.”

“That poses a problem.”

“I realize that.  Do you see any way around it?”

“You will either have to attack other ships or take credit for ships that others destroyed.”

“What?”

“Do you have any idea how many ships mysteriously disappear or are destroyed with no explanation every day?”

“No.”

“My warships destroy at least two or three Unity Vessels a week?”

“What?”

“You know we have ships out disguised as regular commercial vessels, don’t you?”

“Well, yes.”

“You could use the ships we destroy to build a cover.  We’re certainly not going to claim responsibility.”

“Why would you kill that many Unity Ships?”

“Most of them are spies disguised as commercial vessels attempting to uncover our ships.  The Unity has millions of ships in their fleets and the ones we kill are often just reported as lost to pirates.  The Unity is not going to report them as warships.”

“I don’t want the Unity to decide that I’m the one doing it.  They’ll send their fleets out after me.”

“How will they know?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand.”

“Well, what you want is a list of ships that you’ve attacked to use to provide a cover story, right.”  Leo nodded in agreement.  “Well, anyone can look at the list of ships reported destroyed and verify the destruction.  All you need do is share the list of those you want credit for attacking to the one checking out your claims and they will see that the ships were destroyed.  The fact no one was reported as being responsible will add to your cover as being incredibly sneaky in doing it without being caught.”  Leo stared at Gem as he turned his head to the side, “And since all of them will be listed as commercial vessels and not warships…”

Leo smiled, “I like it.”

“Your crew will have to be instructed to know the vessels’ names and the type of ships to answer any questions thrown at them but that should be easy enough.  You’ll only have to take credit for ten or so before you have to use the cover.  I understand you’re going to wait nine months before you start your operation at Tortuga.”

“And if I make deposits into the account on Kellinger soon after each ship is reported destroyed…” Leo said thinking out loud.

“Your cover will hold with the Romanovs.”

Barney said from his console, “And since we know no other pirate destroyed those ships, they will believe you did it.”

“But they may have access to the information on how the attacked ship was hit.  That information is available in the reports,” Embree added.

“That’s not an issue.  I’ll have detailed images sent to me along with a recording of the actual attack.  Show the recording and images to your crew and they’ll be able to answer any questions about it.”

“Let me know as soon as you hear anything about a ship that’s been destroyed.”

Gold lifted his communicator and began talking in clacks, chirps, and unintelligible sounds.  He waited a moment and spoke some more.  A few moment later he looked at Leonidas, “I have the images and recording from one that happened an hour ago.  I’m sending it to your console.”

Leo saw the receive button on his console illuminate and he pressed it.  The recording showed what appeared to be a commercial hauler being fired on by multiple blasters.  The ship’s hull was breeched in multiple places and all of the lights on it went out instantly.  Gold said, “The scans after the attack showed there were no survivors.”

“What prompted the attack, Gold?”

“They ordered our ship to stop and prepare to be boarded.”

Leo nodded and then smiled as he pressed the ship’s intercom, “Attention, I am going to send a recording of an attack that we are going to take credit for doing.  I want you to play this recording repeatedly until you have it memorized.  You will not reveal anything about who or what was on the ship if someone questions you about it in the future.  Simply say you were not part of the boarding party.  I will be sending you recordings like this periodically and I will quiz you on it until I’m certain all of you are telling the same story.  This ship’s name was the Kilder out of Margel.  Know where it was hit and be able to describe the attack in detail.  You will be tested on this information before I send the next one.  You’re going to need this information to provide us a cover when we go to Tortuga.  What you don’t see is that the Kilder was a disguised Unity Warship and was attempting to board another ship.  What they got, they deserved.  Be prepared to take the quiz in two days.  That is all.”  Leo pressed some buttons on his console and sent the images to every crewman’s console.  He turned to Gold, “Thank you.”

“It might be better for you to actually attack some ships before you actually go to Tortuga.  Your crew can use the experience.”

“I’ll look for an opportunity to do just that.  However, this solves my biggest issue.”

“I’m going back to work with your missile crews.”  Leo nodded and Gold left the bridge.

Embree watched him leave and watched the recording, “Captain, those blasters knocked some pretty big holes in that freighter.  A warship wouldn’t have sustained that much damage to its hull.”

“That’s true, but to the universe at large, they won’t know it was a warship.  They’ll see it as a regular commercial freighter and those blaster hits look normal,” Leo replied.

Barney sighed, “I’m really glad the Insectoids are friends.  They are far ahead of everyone else technologically.”

Carl said without looking up from his console, “Amen to that!”

• • •

Frick, Walt, and Jim watched the destruction of the freighter on their displays and Jim said, “Those blaster beams are pretty hot.”

Frick shook his head, “You think?”

Jim nodded, “That freighter had a high strength alloy hull.  They’re hotter than any I’ve ever seen.”

Walt sighed, “But they didn’t use missiles.  I wish I could see what they’ll do.”

“Gold says the missiles pack a more powerful punch than the blasters,” Jim said while staring at his display.  He looked up, “I wonder why they didn’t use them?”

“The use of missiles would be a dead giveaway that an Insectoid Warship destroyed it,” Walt replied.

“You’re right, Walt.  I wonder if the freighter reported the ship they stopped.  I would expect them to report in on any ship they stopped,” Jim said as he stared at his monitor.

“Not if they were doing a little piracy on their own,” Frick replied.  The other two looked at him and Frick shrugged, “I suspect the Insectoids would have heard them report in and would have just tried to run.  I wouldn’t put it past Unity Ships to use piracy to increase their wealth.  Notice that a very large hole is located on the top of that ship where a blaster would be housed.”

Walt smiled, “You make a very good point.  Let’s watch this recording and start quizzing each other on it.”  All three went back to watching the recording.

• • •

Desiree and Victoria were getting frustrated at trying to score Ones on the monitor as the loud speaker announced, “Lady Victoria, we are approaching the second intersection and will be picking up the major filament in an hour.”

Victoria looked at Desiree and she said, “I ordered the crew to address their statements to you.  They need to become accustomed to doing that before we land on a planet.”  She looked up, pressed a button on the wall speaker and said to Jack over the PA system, “We’ll be on the bridge before you arrive.”  Desiree looked at Gem, “We need a break to settle our nerves.  Frustration works against our control.”

“Yes it does.  You can come back here and work on it in your spare time.  Once you’re able to score eight Ones in succession, we’ll move to the next phase of your training.”

Victoria rolled her eyes as Desiree sighed and said, “Let’s go clean up and decide where we’re going.”

The two left the training room and Gem smiled.  They were really doing quite well.  But it just wouldn’t do to tell them.  He received a message on his communicator and read it.  Now that was a novel idea to build a cove, he thought.  Gold didn’t understand the human’s reluctance to just go out and attack other ships but he would learn as he became more familiar with humans.  Still, he did agree that Leonidas did need to make an actual attack before going to Tortuga.  He’d wait and not say anything unless it was absolutely necessary.

• • •

Victoria and Desiree arrived on the bridge and they saw the intersection on the main wall monitor.  It was growing larger each moment and Desiree turned to Victoria, “Do you have a preference of which galaxy we choose to visit?”

“Why would you ask me?”

“Because I’ve never had any experience with any galaxy but this one and you must have some information about others.  After all, your family must have trade relations with galaxies other than this one.”

Victoria shrugged, “We do but I was never involved in any dealings with them.  I’ve often thought about going to see Earth.  The cradle of mankind has always fascinated me.”

Desiree shook her head, “Everyone knows Earth was blasted and pretty much destroyed thousands of years ago.  The database says that humans are still there but it’s a dangerous place to live.  Perhaps we’ll make the trip in the future when all this blows over.”

“Then pick one that’s not far off the major filament we’ll be taking,” Victoria said.

Desiree smiled, “Closest it is.”

• • •

A week later they sat on the bridge and Victoria sighed, “Perhaps we should choose another galaxy.”

Jack looked up from his console, “This one really is the backwater in the universe’s cesspool.”

Desiree smiled, “I’m forced to agree that the tourist planets don’t hold much competition for those in our own galaxy.  There’s one more planet and it’s rated three stars on the Cartian Map.  It has a funny name…Jester.”

“I wonder why it has a human term for its name,” Billy asked from the thruster controls.

Desiree shrugged, “It may not be a human term.  Words can only be put together in so many ways and since the Cartian language is pretty much universally used, the term may just be descriptive of the native term.”

Victoria sighed, “I’ve found it distracting that so many aliens seem to be attracted to me.  Most of the humans have kept their distance.”

Jack chuckled and Victoria looked at him, “What’s funny, Jack?”

“That’s easy.  The aliens see you’re incredibly wealthy and want you to pay for their good time.  The humans take one look at you and know you’re out of their league.”

“What?”

“Men are like that, Victoria.  Beautiful women are looked at as something beyond their reach.  They’re something to be dreamed about and admired from a distance.”  Jack paused, “At least they are if they have a normal ego and aren’t extremely wealthy as well.  Most of the humans in the places we’ve been are doing OK but I’ve not run across any that are wealthy.  The aliens are the ones with the wealth in this galaxy.”

“Well, maybe this planet will be different,” Desiree responded as she entered Jester’s coordinates.  “If this bombs, we’ll head out to anther galaxy.”

• • •

The Play Toy came off the filament and Desiree’s head went back, “I’ll say one thing; this planet has more ships above it than all the others had combined.  This might be what we’re looking for, Victoria.”  Victoria shrugged and Desiree lifted the communicator, “Alright, you know the drill.  Those who are assigned to go to the surface with us need to get ready to leave within the hour.  Keep your distance but make sure you’re close if you’re needed.  Remember to carry your wrist projectors and leave your blasters on board.  The standby shuttle will land and be prepared to come if you’re called.”  Desiree changed the channel and said, “Gem, are you going down with us?”

“Yes, I believe I am.”

“Good, meet us in the landing bay in an hour.”

“Traffic control is contacting us,” Thomas said from the communication console.

“Get our orbital location and see it they can recommend a place for us to go first,” Desiree responded.  She turned to Jack, “You have the ship.”  Jack stood up and went to the command chair as Victoria and Desiree left the bridge.

• • •

Victoria and the three with her exited the tavern and turned south.  Desiree had her arm inside Victoria’s as they walked and Victoria said, “This is better than the others we’ve visited.”

“Yes, it is and the men here aren’t as reluctant to approach you.”

“True but they are pretty self-absorbed.”

Desiree chuckled, “I agree with Jack.  They’d have to be pretty confident to make the effort.”

“Where are we going now?” Victoria asked as she turned and looked at Gem.

“Hey, I’m just along for the ride.  This is your show.”

“I heard in the last establishment that M’s Tavern at the end of the street is a great place to go.  Let’s give it a try,” Desiree said.  Victoria nodded as they walked along the busy sidewalk.  Gem followed a few paces behind them and the two crewmen walking with him kept their eyes out for any trouble but the two women would see it long before they did.  Gem just looked around and smiled at the amazed expressions on the locals faces as they passed.  No one here had ever seen an Insectoid.  The six members of the crew pacing them on the other side of the street were also keeping their eyes on the crowd around Victoria.  They would remain outside the businesses she entered but be ready to move in if needed.

Victoria entered the restaurant and the Greeter smiled, “Are you here for a meal, and my how beautiful you are!”

Victoria smiled at the Arepian, “It’s nice of you to say so.  Please give us a table and a waiter as quickly as possible.”

The Greeter could see that Victoria’s party was dressed in expensive clothes and the jewelry around her neck had to be very expensive.  He waved and a female Arepian came over and smiled, “Please follow me.”  The Greeter saw Gem go with them and his head went back, “What in the hell is that?”

They followed the waitress across the crowded dance floor and arrived at a table slightly elevated above the others.  They took their seats and looked around the room.  Both of them quickly saw the three humans sitting at the bar.  They waited for their waiter to come and Gem said, “Do you see anything in the pattern?”

Victoria nodded, “That man with the dark glasses sitting at the end of the bar is not here for entertainment.  He’s got another motive.”

Desiree nodded, “The couple sitting next to him are also working an agenda.  She has her back to him but he’s the one she’s interested in.”

Gem nodded, “The man is angry at one of the locals sitting at a table with two large bodyguards.”

Desiree nodded, “I can see that.  He’s also carrying a sword.”  Victoria focused on the man and, after a moment nodded.  Desiree thought for a moment and said, “You know, carrying a sword might not be a bad idea.  Most places only scan for blasters.”  She turned and looked at Gem, “What do you think about sword training?”

“Finish the training before you start adding to it.”

“But don’t you think it would be a good weapon to carry?”

“I’ll look into it.”

Their meal arrived and Victoria saw the woman sitting next to the man at the bar turn around and say something to him.  She nudged Desiree, who turned to see them.  The woman and the man with her quickly stood up and left the bar.  The man was clearly frightened and he stood up immediately and headed toward the rear of the tavern.  Victoria nodded toward the rear of the restaurant, “The local man that man has been glaring at has stood up and headed in the same direction with his two body guards.”

“Should we get involved?” Desiree asked.

“NO!  You’re here for entertainment and not to involve yourself in any disagreements,” Gem emphatically stated.

The women looked at each other and turned back to their meal.  Once they finished, a man came up and asked Victoria to dance.  “Why of course, Dahlin; I’ve been so wanting to dance.” 

Desiree watched them and smiled as Victoria didn’t wait to be pulled close but almost wrapped herself around the man whose smile was the biggest feature on his face.  Two hours later, the entire room came to a stop.  Desiree’s eyes narrowed and she shook her head as she said, “What in creation are those!?!”

An alien sitting next to their table answered her, “Those are Venzel Dragons.  They’re probably the most dangerous species in this galaxy and their bite will kill you before you can take three steps.”

Gem leaned in close to Desiree, “They’re here looking for a human.”  Desiree watched them scatter through the crowd and saw one of them turn a scanner toward her as a second Dragon scanned Victoria on the dance floor.  The two crewmen activated their wrist projectors.  Desiree shook her head, “They’re not here looking for us.  Take it easy.”

The Dragons quickly left and Victoria came back to the table.  “Thank you ever so much but I’m getting a little tipsy.”

“Do you mind if I join you,” he asked.

Gem looked at him, “Yes, we do.”  The man took one look at Gem and appeared to evaporate he disappeared so fast.

Victoria looked at Desiree, “I think those creatures were looking for the man at the bar.”

“Either him or the couple sitting beside him,” Desiree agreed.

“It was the man.”  The women turned to Gem, “Those creatures only scanned the male humans in the room.  They were looking for the man with the dark glasses.”

“The couple sitting beside the man with dark glasses had a human male.” Desiree pointed out.

“Yes, but they weren’t as frightened as the man with the glasses and they must have told him those creatures were coming.  I think the female and her companion were also here to take that man but backed off and left before those creatures showed up.”

“He must have done something to really tick them off.”

Gem shrugged, “They’ve probably collected him by now.  It’s not our concern, Desiree.”

Victoria looked at Desiree, “Are you ready to call it a night?”

“I am.”

“Then let’s head back to the ship.”

• • •

They arrived on board and Jack stepped out of the command chair, “We have two technologically advanced warships holding position in the filament above the planet and our scanners show more are on the way at full boost.”

Gem smiled, “It appears they didn’t capture the human they were chasing.”  Desiree raised an eyebrow and Gem continued, “It they captured him they wouldn’t be coming here at full boost.  I wonder what is so important that they would go to this degree of effort to take him.”

“We’re not going to find out.  I don’t like being near this many warships; we’re leaving and going to another galaxy,” Desiree lifted the communicator and announced.  “We’re headed toward the filament.  All hands to Battlestations and be prepared if we’re approached by one of those warships.”

Gem put his right hand on Desiree’s arm, “Don’t boost out of here.  You don’t want to give the appearance you’re running.”  Desiree nodded and took her hand away from the booster controls.  The trip out to the intersection took longer than normal because more warships were coming out of the intersection headed toward the planet.  Gem stared at them on the monitor as they passed and wondered what that human had done to cause this magnitude of response.  But that would remain a mystery; this galaxy was history.  He did notice that the warships boosting toward the planet were highly advanced and moving as fast as the newest Insectoid Warship; these Dragons could be dangerous.

Chapter Ten

Victoria and Desiree were working in the training room trying to score number Twos and both were frustrated but knew that only repetition and time would teach them what they needed to know.  The wall speaker suddenly announced, “Captain, you’re needed on the bridge.”

Desiree looked at the speaker, “What’s going on, Jack?”

“Two ships followed us on the filament at the last intersection.  They’re matching our speed and holding position behind us.”

“On my way!”  Desiree grabbed a towel and looked at Victoria, “Brush you hair and meet me on the bridge.”  Desiree rushed to the bridge and Jack moved out of the command chair to the pilot’s console.  She looked at the tactical monitor on the wall and saw two blips pacing them on the edge of their scanning range.  She looked at Jack, “They must think they’re outside the range of our scanners.”

Jack nodded, “Most commercial ships don’t have military grade scanners.  I think they’re hanging back and allowing us to put some distance from the intersection.  There aren’t any other ships around us at the moment and they see it as a good opportunity to intercept us.”

“You think they’re pirates?”

“Yes, Captain, I do.”

Victoria rushed into the bridge and Desiree nodded toward her chair, “Get ready to talk to some pirates.”

“What?”

“It appears two ships are pursuing us and I expect them to order us to stop shortly.  You need to be ready to try and talk some sense into them.”  Victoria nodded and Desiree turned back to the tactical monitor, “Jack, I don’t want them inside blaster range.  Maintain a safe distance.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Gem entered the bridge and Desiree nodded to him as he went to his chair behind theirs.  “Jack, what can you tell me about those ships?”

“They’re medium sized and have the hulls of a warship.  I can’t see them well enough to determine how many blasters they have but that size usually carries four; two on the top of the hull and two on the bottom.  They’re picking up speed, Captain.”

A man’s image suddenly appeared on the main monitor and said, “You will stop and prepare to be boarded!”

Desiree felt the Play Toy’s boosters increase in power and she nodded to Victoria.  Victoria saw her and pressed the communicate button on her control panel, “Oh my!  Is my crew right?  Are you a pirate?”

The Pirate Captain saw Victoria appear on his display and his head went back slightly.  What was this?  A woman?  “Stop your vessel immediately!”

Victoria batted her eyes and said, “I’ve always wanted to meet a pirate but my crew insists I should do that on a planet and not out in space.  What do you intend to do if I don’t stop, Dahling?”

“I’m going to shoot out your engines; now stop your vessel!”

Desiree looked at Jack and started to order full speed but Gem said, “You might want to use this as an opportunity to give the crew some combat experience.”  Desiree turned around and looked at Gem then turned and said to Jack, “Maintain our distance.”

“Going to one third power.”

The Pirate Captain saw the ship suddenly accelerate and maintain its distance from his two ships.  His eyes narrowed and the woman appeared on his display again, “I’m so sorry, but my crew insists that I must keep my distance from you.  I think you’d make a great dancing partner but my crew disagrees with my finding out.”

The two pirate ships chased the luxury yacht for three hours and moved no closer.  The Captain grew more frustrated with each passing minute and he hit the communicator button, “I WILL CHASE YOU TO THE END OF THE UNIVERSE IF I HAVE TO; YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE!!”

Desiree looked at Victoria, “Try one more time to talk some sense into him.  If that fails, tell him we’ll stop and wait for his arrival.”

“Are you sure about that, Desiree?”

“I am.  This is on him.”

Victoria pressed the communicator and smiled, “Dahling, why don’t you just turn around and go your way.  I love your persistence but you could get your little ole ship damaged if you aren’t careful.”

The Captain yelled into the monitor, “I’M GOING TO TAKE YOU MY SELF AND TEACH YOU WHAT DAMAGE MEANS!!!”

Victoria’s expression changed to a pout, “I’m sorry I’ve upset you so.  I’m going to stop and await your arrival.  Please hurry.”

• • •

The Pirate Captain’s monitor went dark and the commander of the second ship appeared, “Captain, I don’t like this!”

“What do you mean?  We’ve scanned that ship and it doesn’t have anything on it that could harm us!  She’s bluffing!”

“Captain, you only bluff when your life is on the line if there are no other avenues to survive.  That woman has other ways to escape.  She can simply stay ahead of us and go to the nearest Traffic Controlled Planet and we would be forced to back off.  There’s more here than we see.”

“I am going to take that ship, Robert and you will follow me in!”

Robert looked around his bridge and then turned back to the Captain, “I’m sorry, Captain but I’m not willing to take that risk.”

The Captain’s face showed his rage, “I’M GOING TO BLAST YOUR HEAD OFF YOUR SHOULDERS!!”

Robert smiled, “I welcome you to try, Captain.  Care to stop and do it now?”

The Captain knew he was going too far; he was no match for the other ship’s commander.  “You and your crew will not share in the takings!”

“That’s fair.”  Robert looked over his shoulder, “Shut down the boosters.”  He stared at the monitor as the Captain’s ship accelerated away at high speed.

The scanner operator said, “Do you honestly think that ship is dangerous?”

Robert turned and looked at him, “At any point has that woman look the least bit frightened?”

“No, she didn’t.”

“That tells me more than any scanner could reveal.”  He turned to the monitor as the other ship flew at high speed away from them and said, “I really do hope I’m wrong about this.”

• • •

“Captain, one of the ships has shut down its boosters; the other is moving in at high speed.”

Desiree focused on the situation and made a decision.  She pressed the ship’s intercom and said, “Missile Team One, target a missile on that incoming ship and fire as it approaches maximum range.”

“Yes, Captain.  Targeting now.”  Larry activated his panel and saw the approaching ship’s coordinates being sent from the scanners to the first missile in the launch tube.  He waited and then saw the green lock-on indicator illuminate.  He pressed the fire button and the missile shot out of its launch tube.  It immediately activated its small drive field inside the Play Toy’s field as its small engine ignited and it shot away at an incredible speed.

The closing speed between the missile and the pirate ship was impossible to track accurately.  The pirate’s scanners never saw the small missile coming and it hit the ship in the dead center of the ship’s bow.  It blew through the bridge and penetrated all the way to the landing bay before it exploded.  The entire ship went up in a gigantic blast blowing debris out in all directions.  Arnold and Joe high fived Larry, who stood up and took a bow.  They would be watching that recording for months to come.

• • •

Robert sat on his ship and suddenly saw the Captain’s ship go up in a massive explosion.  He jumped out of his chair and then whipped around toward the scanner operator, “What happened?”

“I have no idea, Robert!  The Captain’s ship was between my scanners and whatever hit it.  I know it wasn’t a blaster that did it.”

Robert sat down in his chair and stared at the shockwave moving out from the destroyed ship.  Suddenly, the image was replaced by the woman’s face, “Oh, I do hate that I had to do that.  Would you like to come and see me?”

Robert shook his head as the ship they were chasing turned around and started toward them.  “No, we don’t want to do that.”  He looked over his shoulder, “Reverse course immediately.”

He turned back to the monitor and the woman smiled, “You’re so much smarter and handsomer than the other pirate.  I do have a tiny request.”

“What is that?” Robert asked in a shaky voice as the large gold colored ship began gaining on him.

“Let’s keep this little incident just between the two of us, shall we.  If it gets out that my little ole ship is dangerous, why men might avoid me and that would be just awful.”  Robert stared at the woman and knew he was looking at a demon in the form of a beautiful woman.  The woman lowered her eyes, “I would hate to have to come looking for you if I hear someone ask if it was my ship that killed a pirate.  Will you do that for me, Dahling?” Victoria asked as she batted her eyes.

“Not a problem.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to come see me?  You are so smart.”

“No, that’s quite alright.”  He ended the communication and looked at the pilot, “Go to maximum speed and get us out of here!”  He looked around the bridge, “The Captain had his ship shot out from under him attacking a freighter that was a disguised warship.  If any of you mention that gold colored ship, I will have you flogged and thrown out of the airlock without a suit!!”

“Do you honestly think she could find us?” the Weapons Operator asked.

Robert glared at him, “Do you want to find out?!”

The Operator stared at him and said, “No, I do not.”

“Make sure everyone knows the story!”

“Yes, Captain.  Thank you for keeping us alive.”

“Never mentioning that ship again is part of doing that. Pilot!”

“Yes, Captain.”

“That ship is still gaining on us.”

“We’ll arrive at the filament before it can catch us.”

The Scanner Operator looked up from his panel, “They must realize they can’t catch us and are stopping the chase.  They’re slowing and changing course.”  Robert fell back in his chair and breathed a sigh of relief.

• • •

Desiree turned and looked at Gem, “Why didn’t that ship turn to avoid the missile?”

“They were out running their scanner coverage.  It also appears my mother ordered the newest missiles installed on the ships.”

“What?”

“I thought the engineers were going to put the former generation on board but somehow that order was changed.  It appears you have the latest model.”

“What’s the difference between the two?” Victoria asked.

“The older model was twice as large and about half as fast.  The new model is hard to see on a scanner when it’s moving directly at a target.  Its frontal cross-section is incredibly small and the nose has sharp angles cut into it to reflect any scanner beams away.”

“So you ordered the old model installed?”

Gem looked at Desiree, “I did.  I really didn’t think they’d even install the old model on another species ship but it appears Mother takes keeping me safe a lot more serious than I thought.”

Victoria stared at Gem before saying, “Why is keeping you safe so important?”  Gem looked at her and remained silent.  “Tell me, Gem!”

Gem’s thorax swelled as he inhaled.  “I’m slated to follow my mother and be the next ruler of my planet.”

Billy smiled, “Hey, we have a rock star on board.”

Jack said, “Holy crap!!  You’re not just in the Royal Family; you’re the head of it!”

Gem looked at him, “Not yet.  Mother holds that position at the moment.”

Desiree looked up and rolled her eyes.  Victoria saw her, “What are you thinking?”

Desiree blew out a quick breath, “I not only have to make sure you’re not harmed but I also have to make sure Gem stays safe.”

“Do not concern yourself with me,” Gem replied.

Desiree looked at him, “What do you think your species will think about humans if you’re killed while you’re with us?”

“They’ll think I made a foolish decision but I don’t think they will blame your species.”

“Are you sure about that?!”

“Well, not really.  But let’s not worry about it until it becomes an issue, shall we?”

“Easy for you to say,” Desiree answered as she slumped back in her chair.

“Lighten up, Desiree.”  Desiree turned to Victoria, “It is not our intention to get involved in situations that might put us in danger.  We’re simply going to maintain our cover of being a party ship.”

“And what happens if Leonidas calls us in to help him out of a tight spot?”

Victoria stared at her and sighed, “You’re right.  We’ll put Gem in a shuttle and send him home if that happens.”

They turned and looked at Gem who was quietly clacking.  What’s so funny?” Victoria asked.

“Just who is going to make me do that?”

The two women looked at each other and Desiree rolled her eyes again.

• • •

Serge looked up from his desk as the Security Chief entered his office, “Yes?”

“Sir, we’ve received a message from the Unity inquiring as too why we are stopping other Commercial Trader’s ships.  The official in charge of Unity Naval Forces says that sort of aggressive behavior violates Unity bylaws governing competition and he would not like to open an investigation into our behavior.”  Serge stared at the Chief as he continued, “We’ve been stopping ships to check for your daughter’s presence.  We’ve focused on those that are going to planets she’s familiar with.”

Serge closed his eyes and lowered his head.  He took breath and looked up, “Tell me what this memo is really saying.”

“They’re saying that if we want to keep doing this, a substantial bribe is going to have to be paid to the official that sent the message.”

“Do you not think one of the companies we’ve been stopping hasn’t already done that?”

“Probably, but this is how the game is played.”

“Have you had any success in stopping those ships?” Serge asked.

“No, we have not.  The DNA scanners have shown that Ana has not been present on any of them.”

“How much would I have to pay to continue stopping other commercial ships?”

“At least fifty million credits.”

“Let me tell you how I’d rather see you spend that money.”  The Security Chief nodded.  “We know when she was last seen on Kellinger, right?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“And now you’re quite certain she is no longer on the planet, right?”

“Yes, Sir.  We’ve pretty much left no stone unturned.”

“Then how did she leave?”

“I’m sorry, Sir.  I don’t know what you’re asking.  She must have left on a Starliner.  Getting on a commercial trading ship wouldn’t work.”

“Why not?”

“Because we have sensors all over the commercial space port.  Her DNA would have been detected the moment she stepped through one of the gates.”

“So, if she left, it had to be on a Starliner or a private ship,” Serge repeated.

“Yes, Sir.”

Have you checked out the private ships that were on Kellinger when she was present?”

“We have and nothing indicated they were involved in her disappearance.”

“So, she had to leave on a Starliner, correct?”

“That’s what we’ve assumed, Sir.”

“Use that money to find a female passenger that left Kellinger but has no records of ever arriving on the planet.”

“Females that live on the planet leave it all the time.”

“I know that!!  But they have local addresses.  Find a woman that left Kellinger who does not have a local address.  It will have to be someone that booked passage off the planet but has no record of ever arriving.”  The Security Chief stared at Serge, who said after a few moments, “I trust you have someone inside the Starliner’s booking agencies that can search their databases for that information, don’t you?”

“Yes, Sir.  What about stopping other company’s vessels?”

“Stop doing it.  If that were going to work, it would have by now.  Get back to me if anything turns up.  Also notify that Unity Official that we will cease stopping ships immediately.”

“Yes, Sir.”

• • •

Three weeks later, the Security Chief contacted Serge Romanov on his personal frequency.  Serge took the call and said, “Well, did anything turn up?”

“Yes, Sir.  We found three women that were visitors to Kellinger who booked passage off the planet during the time frame we think Ana left.”

“And?”

“We aren’t able to confirm any arrival that happened more than three months earlier; the Starliner’s purge the databases older than three months.  However, one of the women booked a flight to Luminus.”

“Isn’t that planet famous for building personal starships?”

“It is, Sir.”

“What was the woman’s name?”

“Victoria Lenora De La Pascal.  She is a wealthy widow who inherited a huge fortune from her husband.”

“How huge?”

“More than half a trillion credits.”

Serge’s head tilted to one side as he asked, “Do you have a description?”

“Better than that, Sir.  I have a photo.”

An image appeared on Serge’s console and he stared at it.  “She looks nothing like Ana.”

“That’s true, Sir.”

“What about the other two?”

“We’ve already found them and scanned them.  They are not Ana.”

“What about this Victoria something or other.”

“We’ve not been able to find her.  The ship builder on Luminus says that he built her an expensive luxury yacht and sent her on her way.”

“When did that happen?”

“Two weeks after your funds disappeared.”

“What do you think about this?”

“There’s more, Sir.  According to the shipbuilder, a man also purchased an old commercial ship that she paid for.”

“That’s got to be her doing.  What sort of ship did the man purchase?”

“Sir, it was an old commercial trader and finding it is going to be next to impossible.  There are more than a million of those old ships still in use around the galaxy and there was nothing about the ship that made it unique.  Finding it will be like looking for a single grain of sand on the beach.  But finding that yacht should be easy.”

“Why haven’t you found it?” Serge pressed.

“It’s probably not in our galaxy.”  Serge’s expression tightened and the Security Chief held up his hand, “She will have to come back to access her accounts.  Now that we know what we’re looking for, we won’t miss her when she reappears.”

“Are you certain it’s her?  This Victoria looks nothing like Ana.  Ana is almost…homely compared to this woman.”

“Sir, she was far from homely and I know that one’s appearance can be radically changed by those that do it for a living.  We’re checking all the places on Kellinger to find who changed Ana’s appearance.”

“You believe this Victoria is Ana?”

“Sir, all the evidence points to it.  One DNA scan will confirm it.”

“Were either of those ship’s armed?”

“Not on Luminus, Sir.  I’m having all the planets that could install weapons on them in this galaxy contacted and so far, none of them have recorded a Yacht or a commercial trader arriving to be armed.” 

“Keep me informed.”

“Yes, Sir.”

The Chief ended the contact and leaned back in his chair.  He hadn’t told Serge that Victoria was at least two inches shorter than Ana.  Making someone taller was simple; wear taller heels or shoe inserts.  Making someone shorter was…well…not impossible but he’d never heard of a way to successfully pull it off.  But this fit all the pieces so perfectly!  He sighed and knew that if he didn’t come up with something soon, Serge was going to lose it.  This was the best bet but he’d continue to search for Ana until this yacht made an appearance.  He shook his head, this had to be her!!

• • •

Carl stared at his monitor and after a few minutes he turned to Leonidas, “Sir.”

Leonidas looked at him, “What is it, Carl.”

“I’ve just received a message from a technician named Doby on Luminus.”  Leonidas sat up straight and his eyes narrowed.  “He says to thank you for helping him pay off his fine and that he hopes you and the Lady are doing well.  He also said that he didn’t know if it was important or not but that a Romanov Vessel arrived a few days ago and asked a lot of questions about ships that may have been purchased by the Lady Victoria.  The Port Manager told them about her yacht and your trader being purchased by her.”

Barney looked at Leonidas, “How do you think they were able to connect her to Luminus, Captain?”

Leonidas slowly shook his head, “I really don’t have any idea how they managed to do that.  But this proves that Romanov has incredible resources being used to find her.”  Leo thought for a moment and said, “They had to go through the Starliner’s database and look at everyone that left Kellinger around the time we were there.  I’m not sure how they did it but it’s a certainty that they’re suspicious of her being the one they’re looking for.”

“What about us, Sir?”

Leonidas absently shook his head, “I chose this ship because finding it would be next to impossible, Embree.  That’s especially true after I changed the transponder and changed the ship’s name on the Cartian database.  It also doesn’t have the same profile it had when I bought it after it was modified by the Insectoids.  Victoria’s ship is another story, there’s no other ship like it.  It was a custom built job.”

“Should she change her transponder?”

“No, Barney.  What good would that do?  It’s the only starship of its kind and changing the transporter would only cause more suspicion.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Tell Gem what’s going on and let him and Desiree work out what strategy they should use.  I think between them, they can come up with something.”

“I hope so, Captain.”

Leonidas sighed, “I do, too, Carl.”

Chapter Eleven

The Spider looked at the image of Victoria on the console and huffed.  This woman was two and a half inches shorter than Ana and her chest was more than five inches larger.  There were somethings that couldn’t be faked.  Well, surgery could change bust size but it was clear that this woman had not had surgery and was more endowed than Ana’s flat chest.  Plus, her eyes were blue; the identification systems clearly showed she was not wearing colored contacts.  The Security Chief was grasping at straws on this.

The Spider sat back and thought about it.  The Security Chief had a top of the line Identification System as well and he had to see the same things.  Why was he feeding this crap to Serge?  Ummm…must be job security.  But…it did fit all the pieces other than this woman not possibly being Ana.  Could Ana have financed her purchase of the yacht and joined this woman after she launched?  She certainly had the funds to do it.  The Spider pressed a button and a man appeared on the panel’s monitor.  “I need you to be prepared to make an interception at a moment’s notice starting now.”

“It’s going to cost you.”

“I realize that.  Just be ready to make it happen or I’ll collect what I pay you out of your lifeless body!”  The man nodded and the display went dark.  The Spider went back to the console and read other private messages being sent by the Romanovs.

• • •

Victoria sat in her command chair and stared at the filament they were traveling.  It was eerily beautiful.  Jack looked up from his scanners and said, “My Lady, how did your family grow to be so powerful.  In the three galaxies we’ve visited, most humans we’ve encountered are not rich and powerful.  Most of them are struggling to get by.”

Victoria smiled, “The story is one my family is very proud of, Jack.  Do you know much about the history of Earth?”

“I know some of it.”

“Do you know about the time about a thousand years after Earth was bombarded back into the Stone Age when traders would come to Earth and bid on young humans to work on their vessels?”

Jack nodded, “That was at the start of the Commercial Age.”

“Yes, it was.  The original Serge had fifteen children with two different wives.  The effort of having eight children eventually killed his first wife.  Anyway, he sold all fifteen children to the traders and saved the money they paid him.  His second wife rebelled against him selling their youngest child and he killed her just before he booked passage off Earth.  He took the funds he collected and bought a small commercial trader, which he had armed.  He took that ship and within a few years made enough to buy another ship.  He also found another wife during that period and had two more sons.  One of them commanded the second ship and later the second son commanded a third.”

“It sounds like he used his family as a means of gathering wealth.”

“He absolutely did.  His older son took command of the small growing fleet after Serge’s death and started pirating other commercial ships.  However, unlike other pirates, he would take the contents of the pirated trading ship along with the shipping manifest and take them to the planet they were consigned to be delivered.  He would give them to the company that ordered the goods and collect the full payment.”

“That’s incredibly smart!”  Billy said from his console.  “Most pirates only make about a tenth of the value of what they take from ships they plunder.”

Victoria nodded, “They paid nothing for the shipment they pirated and received full value from the planet that ordered it.  Within twenty years, the Romanovs no longer had to resort to piracy.  They owned enough trading vessels to make incredible wealth as the universe began changing to a commercial economy.  They were in the right place at the perfect time.”

Jack sighed, “I guess they still don’t place much value on their families.  He sent you out into a dangerous situation.”

Victoria stared at Jack and said, “Yes…he did.”

Jack stared at her and said, “What are you thinking?”

“I’m wondering about whether or not Serge does hold anyone in his family in high esteem.”  Victoria thought for a minute and said to Jack, “You know that I’m not really his daughter.  He purchased me and my sister when were babies.”  Jack nodded.  “That makes me wonder if he actually has a real daughter or son somewhere.”

“Who is going to inherit the company after him?  The original Serge thought that was important.  I would think this one would be same as his ancestors.”

Victoria shook her head, “I don’t know, Billy.  But it would be nice to find out.”

The speaker announced, “Victoria, report to the training room, please.”

Victoria inhaled and blew out a hard breath, “See you later.  Jack, you have the ship.”  Victoria arrived in the training room and found Desiree stretching.  She looked at Gem, “What is it today?  Death by small cuts or blaster burns?”

Desiree chuckled as Gem clacked, “Funny!  Today, you are going to avoid being hit by blasters beams or projectiles and if you’ve not been hit quickly, you will move around the room taking out the targets one by one.  Eliminate the first one you attack by delivering a One disabling blow to it; the second with a Two blow to it, and the third with a Three blow to it.  You will then start back at delivering one, twos and threes in that order to the remaining targets.”

Victoria joined Desiree stretching when she entered the room and asked as she touched her toes and reached for the ceiling, “And if we get hit?”

“Then you’ll start over at the beginning.”

Victoria looked at the fifty man-sized figures in the room holding hand weapons and then looked at Desiree, “Seems easy enough.”  Desiree burst out laughing and had to bend over to catch her breath.  “Hey, I was being sarcastic.”

Gem clacked, “I want the two of you to try something.”  Both women looked at him as Desiree stopped laughing.  “You’ve been focusing on the targets up to now.  I want you to forget the targets and focus on seeing the pattern instead.”

Desiree eye’s widened, “Pattern?”

“There is always a pattern taking place around you.  Focus on seeing it and not the targets.  Try it.”

Victoria and Desiree looked at each other and they turned and looked at the room full of possible enemies.  After a moment, Gem said, “BEGIN!”

Victoria leaned back as a bright light beam flashed past her head and spun around hitting the target behind her in the head with her elbow.  The loud speaker designated to Victoria announced loudly, “ONE!” She went into a crouch and hit the next closest target in the arm with her fist and it twisted into an impossible angle.  “Two!”

She was turning her head constantly as she leapt five feet off the floor and kicked a target in the head.  “Three!”  She moved toward the floor and twisted her torso as a bright beam flashed pass her.  She landed between two targets and jabbed both arms out hitting both of them in their chests.  Two Ones!”

Gem watched the two women moving at incredible speed around the room and smiled as they avoided being hit by projectiles and beams and took out the targets.  Four minutes later, they went back and took out the Ones they had hit first thus ending the exercise.  Desiree and Victoria looked at each other in shock and Gem started slapping his arms together, “Very good, Ladies.”

Desiree shook her head and turned to Gem, “Why didn’t you tell us to look for the pattern earlier?!  We’ve been beating ourselves up for weeks!”

“Part of the learning process involves controlling your bodies.  You’ve only now mastered controlling your strikes well enough to not cause useless killing.”

Victoria was breathing hard as she said, “Useless killing?”

“There will be times where you will not want to kill your attackers.  What if the ones trying to capture you are the local authorities?  You may want to avoid doing them permanent harm.”

Victoria nodded, “You’re right, Gem.  They would only be doing their job and should not be killed for it.”

Gem nodded, “Exactly.”

Desiree looked around the room at the wrecked figures and said, “So what happens now?”

Gem went to a locker, opened it, and took out two scabbards.  He handed one to each of them and clacked before saying, “I understand that you wanted to learn how to use a sword.”

Desiree pulled the sword halfway out of the scabbard and her eyes went wide at the brilliant color of the blade, “What are these?”

Gem clacked a smile, “I purchased them on the last planet we visited from a trader that has held them in his family for more than four hundred years.  They were made on a planet called Bellingham and the trader insisted that there are no finer blades made in the universe.  I’ve analyzed them and I have to say that the metal is beyond anything I’ve ever seen.”

“How did he get them?”

“He told me that they were originally traded for by a commercial ship more than a thousand years ago and have pretty much changed hands over the centuries until he purchased them.  I did some research on Bellingham and they once did trade with other worlds long ago but will no longer allow traders to come to their planet.  Having two matched pairs is incredibly rare.  I’ve not been able to find anyone else in the ship’s database that has them for sale.”

“How did you find these?”

“I advertised for a good pair of swords and the trader answered my ad.  He gave a price that was outrageous but he made me curious about what sword could possibly cost that much.  He sent a courier with them along with a write-up on the swords’ history to the last planet we visited.  I determined that they are worth the price.”

“How much?”

“Six million credits each.”

Victoria’s head went forward with her jaw wide open, “You’ve got to be kidding me!!”

Gem pressed a button on his console and all of the broken figures disappeared into the floor.  A moment later, they were replaced by fifty new armed figures.  He turned to them and said, “Both of you need to fully understand that these swords are weapons of death.  If you pull them, someone is going to die; they are too sharp to just deliver a small cut.”  Desiree’s eyes narrowed and Gem said, “I don’t know how these blades were made but they do not lose their edge; trust me I’ve tried.  You’re going to do this exercise again but you’re going to use your swords to get through it.  Forget about Ones, Twos, or Threes.  Hit the targets and keep moving.  Are you ready?”  Victoria looked at Desiree and shrugged.  She pulled her sword and saw Desiree do the same.  Gem said, “Begin!”

All fifty targets were cut apart in less than a minute.  After the exercise was over, the two women looked at each other with wide eyes.  Even the metal posts the targets were bolted on were cut apart.  Gem said, “I’ve made two swords with dull edges for you to practice drawing them and putting them back in the scabbards.  Your sword training will be learning to draw them and put them away without cutting yourselves.  Your physical talents give you all you need to use them in actual combat conditions; you need no training on how to effectively use them.”

Desiree looked at Gem, “I think Leonidas could use one of these.”

Gem walked over to the locker and pulled out another scabbard, “The trader had three and I purchased all of them.  This will be Leonidas’ sword.”

Victoria put her sword into the locker as Gem handed her a matching sword with a dull blade.  She took the scabbard and put the leather strap over her shoulder.  She tried to put the sword into the scabbard and failed miserably.  Gem smiled, “Practice drawing it first.  You’ll get a feel for where the scabbard is located on your shoulder.  You have to raise it high over your shoulder to draw it and to scabbard it.  Focus on that feeling as you draw it and over time, you’ll get the feel.”  Gem left them to practice and wondered about the metal in the swords.  One day, a trip to Bellingham might be called for.  He didn’t tell them about the fourth sword he kept for himself.

He went to his quarters and felt his communicator vibrate.  He activated and it and started reading.  It appears the Romanovs knew about the purchase of the two ships on Luminus around the time Ana disappeared.  That put Victoria square in their sights and it was a certainty that she would be accosted by armed Romanov ships when she returned to her home galaxy.  He thought about the issue and how to get around it.

• • •

“Captain, I have a ship on my scanner behind us that appears to be trailing a commercial freighter directly in front of us.”

“Is the ship in the Cartian Registry, Carl?”

“It’s listed as a privately owned vessel.”

“What planet’s flag does it use?”

Carl looked up from his monitor, “Tortuga, Sir.”

Embree snorted, “That’s being rather open about their intentions, isn’t it, Sir?”

Leonidas shrugged, “Not every ship that comes out of Tortuga is a pirate.  There is a huge community of commercial companies that provide the support needed to keep the pirates flying.  Tortuga also has a large fleet of commercial vessels that the local inhabitants use.”  Leonidas pulled up the data on the ship and absently said, “I notice that there are no reports on that ship being a pirate.”

“Then why is it trailing that freighter?” Barney asked.

“Just because it has not been reported doesn’t mean it’s not a pirate.  What it probably means is that they kill all the beings on the any vessel they attack.  I’m reasonably sure they shoot off the long range communication dishes immediately to prevent an attack report from being generated and if they leave no witnesses…” Leonidas shrugged.

Carl shook his head, “There’s more than three hundred crewmen on a freighter that size.  I can imagine the grief and sorrow of the families of the crew if their fathers are killed by pirates.”

Leonidas nodded as he stared at the two ships on the main wall monitor.  He looked at Carl, “Does the registry give a contact frequency and name for that ship trailing the freighter?”

Carl pressed some buttons on his console and looked up, “Yes, Sir.  It does.  Its name is Braxel.”

Leonidas nodded slightly as he continued to stare at the two ships.  After a minute he pressed a red button followed by the intercom button.  Orange flashing lights began strobing as he said, “All hands to Battlestations.  This is not a drill.”

Barney looked at him, “What are you going to do?”

“Tell them that the freighter is our bone and not theirs to chew on.”  Leo looked at Carl, “Put the contact frequency on my panel.”  The frequency appeared in the communicator display and Leonidas pressed it as the crew rushed to Battlestations, “Attention Braxel, I notice that you are now following a freighter that I’ve been trailing for more than three days.  I would appreciate your backing off and leaving.”

An alien appeared on Leo’s display and snarled, “You would be well advised to go elsewhere.  What I do is none of your concern and I do not tolerate interference in my actions.”

Leo looked at Carl, “What kind of species is he?”

“Beligeese, Sir.”

He turned back to the display as a printout appeared next to the alien’s image with information about its home world.  “Unfortunately, I claimed this freighter before you showed up today.”

“THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE TAKEN IT!!”

“Finding the proper place to do that is what’s caused my delay.  You know how it is, too many witnesses.  That’s why you’ve not moved in on it yet as well.  I will tell you that if you attempt to take my freighter, I will be forced to stop you.”

Leo muted the frequency and looked at Carl, “Weapons?”

“Similar to our own; four blasters, however, I see no missile ports, Sir.”

“Sir, their thrusters are one half the size of ours; they will not be capable of matching our speed!” Embree said from his console.

“Sir, all crews have reported in and are at full power to their weapons,” Barney added as he shut down the strobing orange lights.

Carl looked up, “Sir, they’ve slowed and the Freighter has opened some distance from them.”

“Barney, boost the ship closer to the freighter and keep us between them and the freighter.  Notify me if they move inside blaster range.”

• • •

The Thermopylae accelerated and moved in close behind the freighter.  They followed the freighter for six hours as the pirate maintained position behind them.  Leonidas’ display illuminated and the alien appeared, “You’ve had plenty of opportunities to take that freighter!”

Leo smiled, “And the only reason I haven’t is because you are waiting for me to do just that.  Any idiot knows that attacking a ship leaves you wide open to be attacked while your crew is on the other ship.  You should leave, now!”

“We could agree to share in the takings from the freighter and take it together.”

“I might have accepted your offer six hours ago but it’s clear your intentions were to attack my ship when I moved on the freighter.  I don’t like that and will not share anything with you!”

“You have no proof that was my intention!”

“You’re now wearing a space suit.  You don’t have the helmet on but I can see the suit below your face.  You don’t need a space suit against an unarmed freighter.  Oh, your intentions are quite clear.”

“If you wait much longer, that freighter will arrive at its destination and you will lose it.”

“There will be others,” Leonidas replied as the display went dark.

“Sir, I detect power being directed to their blasters,” Carl announced.  Suddenly, Carl’s head went back, “Sir, I have another ship moving at high speed toward us on the filament.”

“Where is it flagged, Carl?”

Carl looked at Leonidas, “Tortuga, Captain.”

“Barney, slow the ship so the Freighter moves out of scanning range.”  The Thermopylae slowed and the Pirate behind it slowed as well maintaining its distance.  The second ship arrived twenty minutes later and pulled up alongside the first pirate.  Leonidas looked at the ship on the tactical display and said, “Weapons, Carl?”

“The second ship has six blasters on its hull.  It doesn’t appear to have missile ports.”

Leonidas nodded, “That must be the Pirate Captain and he’s coming to support one of his vessels.” He pressed his intercom button, “Missile Crews, you have the second warship.  Blaster Teams, I want you to target the four blasters on the first ship and nothing else.”

Gold had arrived on the bridge earlier and was listening to the exchanges, “Do you think it’s a good idea to use a missile?”

“We need to know what the missiles are capable of doing.  I don’t believe they’ll be able to determine what type of missile is being fired once we go to full battle speed.  The first ship’s scanners can’t keep up with what’s going on tactically.”  Gold raised his arms and nodded.  Leonidas looked at Barney, “Once they start their attack runs, move the ship across the filament to the opposite side and turn back toward them; we’ll open fire as they pass.  Keep us at the outer edge of their blaster range!”  Leonidas watched the two ships and knew they weren’t going to delay much longer; they’d lose the freighter if they did.  He looked at Gold, “Am I correct in assuming our blasters have a much longer range than those two ships?”

Gold glanced at the tactical monitor and nodded, “They appear to be using standard Unity Blasters.”

“What do you mean, ‘appear’?”

“You do as well.  You won’t know until you enter combat if they’re more than they appear to be.”

Leonidas looked at Carl quickly, “What power rating did you detect going to the blasters on the first ship?”

“The power transfer matches with standard Unity Blasters, Sir,” Carl answered.

“You have the ship, Barney.  Make it dance.”

Barney stared at his panel and waited for the two ships to start their attack run.  He kept his hands on the booster and lateral controls as he stared at the display.

• • •

“Why didn’t you attack that ship?  Your ship is a match for it.”

“Captain, take a look at the boosters on that ship; they’re double the size of those on the Braxel.”  The Captain nodded to his scanner operator and saw the large thrusters behind the ship ahead of them.  His brow lowered as he wondered why the ship hadn’t run when he appeared.  It was clear that it was outnumbered and out gunned.  But it didn’t flee and that bothered him.  “I offered to share in the takings with him but he refused, Captain.”

The Captain really had no choice but to attack.  He realized that if that ship hailed from Tortuga, he would have been bound by the covenants to back off the freighter due to it being found by the other ship first.  But it didn’t hail from Tortuga and, if he backed off, his crews would start to question his bravery.  That could lead to a mutiny and he wasn’t prepared to deal with that issue.  There were already some in his fleet that wanted a change in leadership.  “Go to full power and prepare to take that ship on both sides.”  The two ships started moving forward and the Captain nodded to his pilot.  Both ships went to full boost and moved toward the ship in front of them at full speed.

• • •

Walt looked at Frick and Jim sitting beside him at their missile control panels, “I’ve been designated to take the shot.  Frick, you have the follow up it it’s needed.”

“Tracking now!” Frick replied.

• • •

Barney pushed the booster handle forward and the ship accelerated away from the incoming pirates at an incredible speed.  The Pirate Captain wondered if it was fleeing but saw the ship suddenly turn at an impossible angle across the filament and come roaring back at them with a tremendous closing speed.  “TURN ACROSS THE FILAMENT!!”  Before the ship could respond, the other ship was roaring up on their port sides.  “FIRE ALL BLASTERS NOW!!”

• • •

Walt watched his panel as the launch button turned green and he pressed it.  At the same moment, four blasters fired at once at one of the passing pirates.  The larger of the two pirate ships went up in a massive explosion just after the other ship shuttered as its stardrive failed and it exited under space into normal space.

“Take us to the pirate’s exit point!” Leonidas commanded.  The Thermopylae turned back across the filament and stopped at the debris of the destroyed pirate ship.  Barney shut down the stardrive and the ship entered normal space.  Five hundred miles away they saw the second pirate ship smoking from the blaster hits it had taken.

Gold looked at the ship on the monitor and tilted his head, “It appears you missed one of the blasters on the bottom.”

Leo nodded, “I can see that we hit it to the left side.  I think we disabled it.”

“Don’t get close enough to find out,” Gold suggested.

Leo nodded and lifted his communicator.  He pressed a button and the pirate commanding the Braxel appeared, “I didn’t destroy your vessel because I want you to go back to Tortuga and let everyone know that I do not tolerate interference with my rightful actions.”

The Pirate stared at him and his rage was clear.  He kept waiting for his Captain to appear to assist his damaged ship, but he didn’t show.  Leo smiled, “I think you’re going to need another Fleet Captain.  Pass the word.”

The Thermopylae disappeared as it activated its stardrive and the Pirate knew he was lucky.  He was defenseless and was now certain the Captain wasn’t as fortunate.  He looked at the pilot, “Stardrive status?”

“It was knocked off line but is now operational.”

“Get us back to Tortuga.  We owe that ship!”

“Perhaps you might ask others to go and take revenge,” the Weapons Controller suggested.  “I don’t want to ever run across it again!”

The Ship Commander looked at him in anger but, after a moment, had to admit that he agreed with him.  This will be left to whomever was chosen to be the new Captain to handle

Chapter Twelve

Leonidas looked at the recording of the attack and turned to Gold, “That missile is something else in the world of warfare; I’ve not seen anything that can match its destructive capability.”

“That’s why I would prefer you not use it unless absolutely necessary.  It is a new development and the Queen want’s it kept secret.”

“The first ship was knocked out of subspace before it hit.  I’m sure they weren’t able to track it.”

“Still, in the future…”

“I’ll not use it unless absolutely necessary,” Leonidas interrupted.

“Sir, should we go after the freighter?”

Leo looked at Embree, “Why do you ask that?”

“I think the pirate you caught and released will check to see if we took it.  It would add a layer to our cover story, even if we don’t attack.”

Gold nodded, “Your officer makes a good point.  Destroying that freighter after your fight with the pirates would make excellent sense.”

Leo looked at Carl, “How far is that freighter from its destination?”

“About two hours.”

“So, if we extrapolate our speed passing the pirates, how long would it take us at that speed to catch it?”

Carl began querying his computer and looked up, “An hour and forty-five minutes, Sir.  But we can catch them in less than an hour at full speed.”

“I’d rather keep our top speed a secret much more than adding a layer to my cover.  The pirates that examine this will determine that the freighter was too close to its destination to be taken.”

Gold thought about it and twisted his head to the left, “How fast were you traveling when you passed the pirates?”

Leo looked at Carl and he answered, “About one third speed.”

Everyone looked at Barney who raised his shoulders, “The closing speed was so high that I feared we’d be moving too fast to hit them if I used more speed.”

Gold clacked, “Your weapons will perform at maximum speed.”

Leo smiled, “One of the blasters missed.  Moving at a higher speed may have caused the others to miss their target as well.”

Gold looked at him in silence for a moment and then said as he turned, “I need to investigate how that happened.  The blasters are designed to lock on a target and hit it traveling at maximum speed.”

He walked off the bridge and Embree shrugged, “He doesn’t appear to value life very much, Sir.”

“He does; just not other species.”

“That’s what I said, Sir.”

Leo looked at Embree and knew he needed to have a discussion with Gold.  That would come later.

• • •

Two days passed and Leonidas went to Gold’s quarters and knocked on the portal.  The speaker on the wall announced, “Enter.”

Leonidas went in and saw the Insectoid staring at the display on his panel, “Do you have a moment?”

“Yes, sit down.”

Leonidas went to what looked like a chair and sat on its edge, “I want to discuss something with you and I’m concerned that you might not understand what I’m saying.”

Gold stared at him and then twisted his head, “Go ahead.”

“You don’t seem concerned about me using my ship to kill innocent humans.”

“I’m not.”

“I know that; your behavior has made that clear.  The problem is that your species has never had an instance of having to attack others from your worlds.”

“Why is that a problem?”

“Just consider this.  What if, and I do hope you understand that this is only for conjecture, your species spreads out in the galaxy and some of you become competitive with each other’s worlds.  Would you attack a commercial vessel from another planet your species inhabits?”

“Of course not; we’d never compete with each other.”

“Never is not a good word to use.  But if you did, would you do it?”  Gold stared at him and Leonidas quickly said, “Especially if you didn’t need to do it to protect yourself.”

“What are you saying?”

“There were about three hundred humans on that freighter that have families that they’re supporting.  They did nothing to us and you appear to think their lives count for nothing except to provide a better cover story for us.  Would you feel differently if just one of your species was on board that ship?  And don’t say that couldn’t happen, I know you have some of your species that conduct business in the Unity.”  Gold stared at him in silence and Leonidas said, “All I’m asking you to do is just look at each ship we’re going to destroy as if one of your species is on board and then decide if it’s really necessary to do it.”

“Does that include warships attacking us?”

“No, it does not.  But you’ve suggested we attack commercial vessels several times and would you have done that if one of your own was on board them?”

Gold turned his head and said, “I will do as you request.”

“Thank you and thank you for allowing me to discuss this with you.”  Leonidas stood and left the room.

Gold stared at the port and took his communicator out of his belt pouch.  He pressed a button and said, “I need to speak with you.”  He put it down on his console and went back to staring at his panel’s display.

An hour later, the communicator vibrated and he saw Gem on it, “I’m going to send you a recording of a conversation I just had with the Human commanding this vessel.”

“Send it.”  Gold waited and a few minutes later heard Gem say, “What is your issue?”

“I am questioning the bravery of Leonidas and whether or not he is fit to command this ship.”

“I am going to send you some recordings of his prior actions and I want you to contact me after you’ve viewed them,” Gem replied.

Gold saw a large file appear on his communicator and he downloaded it to his console.  He started viewing the recordings showing Leonidas in numerous battles.  It took five hours to view them all and at the end, he pressed his communicator.  When Gem’s face appeared, Gold said, “I don’t understand.  His bravery is beyond question but his actions don’t match up with what I just observed.”

“That’s because you have been infected by those that rule the Unity.  Look at Leonidas as one that values the members of his species very much as we do.”

“But most humans don’t.”

“I don’t know if that’s entirely accurate.  The vast majority of humans are not in positions calling for war.  They operate commercial vessels, businesses, and numerous other occupations not requiring them to attack others.”

“But those that are in those positions are brutal!” Gold retorted.

“They’re trying to keep their positions of power.”  Gem paused and then continued, “Humans evolved on a planet where they had to fight the ecology as well at other humans for limited resources.  Their evolution taught them to fight to survive.  Unlike our species that evolved from one place and we always worked together to survive, humans did not.  They without doubt represent the biggest danger to us and we will have to be careful that we don’t turn their full attention on us.”

Gold clacked, “We could destroy them all!”

“We only occupy a few planets.  Humans are scattered around the universe in literally billions of places.  Are you so certain that our technology is better than all the other galaxies in the universe?”  Gold stared at him and Gem said, “I’ve uncovered a metal used by humans that can withstand our most powerful blaster beams.”

“What?”

“I’ll let you examine it next time I see you but I’ve already analyzed it and it is what I say it is.  However, you didn’t answer his question.”

“What question is that?”

“If one of our species was on that freighter, would you have still called for its destruction?”

Gold stared at Gem and finally said, “No, I guess I wouldn’t.”

“Is that because you aren’t brave?”

“NO!”

“Then how can you stand there and tell him to do what you wouldn’t?”

The communicator went dark and Gold stared at it for a long time.

• • •

The months passed quickly and one morning early Leonidas called Gold to the bridge.  He arrived and Leonidas said, “Will you contact Gem and determine where we should meet?  We need to discuss the Romanovs stopping Victoria’s ship before she comes back.”

“I think it might be a good idea to meet her wherever she is at the moment,” Gold responded.

Leo thought about the suggestion and then nodded, “You’re right.  See if he can give you some coordinates where we can meet them.”

Gold took his communicator out of his pouch and began speaking in clicks, clacks, and humming sounds.  After a few minutes, he pressed a button on his communicator and turned to Leonidas, “I’ve sent you the route to a planet that goes by the name Jester.  I’ve included the filaments we need to take to get there as quickly as possible.”

Leo nodded and sent the data to Barney’s console, “Take us to the planet in the data I’ve just sent you.”

“Yes, Captain.”  The Thermopylae turned across the filament it was traveling and headed toward the closest intersection.  Leo sat in his chair and thought about Desiree.  What was he going to say?  He still didn’t have an answer.

• • •

Gem stepped into the training room and saw Desiree and Victoria practicing their striking skills.  He clacked and said loudly, “Ladies, we need to head back to Jester.”

They stopped hitting the targets and Desiree asked, “Why is that, Gem?”

“Leonidas is going to meet us there.”

“Why?”

“There appears to be an issue that needs to be discussed by all of us.”

Victoria looked at Gem and turned her head slightly, “What issue is that?”

“Leonidas has discovered that the Romanovs have uncovered that his and your ship were built on Luminus about the time you disappeared from Kellinger.  They’ve been looking for your ship since that discovery and we need to decide what we’re going to do about it.”

Desiree’s eyes narrowed, “How long have you known this?”

“Ohhhh…about three months.”

“AND YOU DIDN’T TELL US?!”

“To what end would that have accomplished anything?  You have been intensively training and you didn’t need to be distracted by something you couldn’t do anything about.”

“BUT…”

“What could you have done about it?” Gem interrupted.

Desiree stared at Gem and then looked at Victoria, who was also angry, but could only shrug at giving a response.  Gem continued, “Both of you have been struggling to master your skills and you did not need a distraction!  You are ready now and I’m confident you are fully capable of defending yourselves.  This will not be an issue until you have to go back and that hasn’t happened yet.”

Desiree focused and after a moment calmly said, “Do you have any ideas?”

“I’ve been thinking about it but I need to hear what Leonidas thinks before I make any suggestions.”

“When will he be there?”

“He’ll arrive in about five days, Victoria.  We should arrive the day before.  I would recommend the two of you put your heads together to see if you can come up with any suggestions.”

Desiree pressed the button on the loudspeaker, “Jack.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Set a route back to Jester.”

“Changing course now.”

“You know what happened last time we were there,” Victoria said to Gem.

“Yes, but I think that is not the norm.  We’ll be fine and it’s not a bad place to visit,” Gem replied.

Victoria looked at Desiree, “Why don’t we clean up and meet on the bridge to discuss this?”

“Good idea; I’ll see you in an hour.”

• • •

An hour later, they met on the bridge and began discussing what to do about the situation including the bridge crew.  After thirty minutes, Jack said, “I don’t see any way we can avoid them.  If we go back to our galaxy, they will find us.”

“If they do, we should be able to fight our way out of any confrontation,” Billy said.

Desiree looked at Billy, “We do not want to reveal the power of this ship, Billy, or even that it’s armed unless it’s absolutely unavoidable.”

Billy shook his head, “But the Romanovs have their own personal navy.  Their top warships rival any used by the Unity and if we’re seen, they’ll vector in an entire fleet on us.”

Everyone stared at Billy and Victoria sighed, “There appear to only be two choices.”

Desiree turned to her, “And those are…”

“We either don’t go back or we have another ship built.”

Gem clacked loudly, “I can assure you that my mother will not build you another ship.  If you choose to build another ship at a different location, it will be far weaker than this one and a lot slower.”

“Then we can’t go back,” Victoria sighed.

Desiree shook her head slowly and then said, “Let’s see what Leonidas has come up with.  We need to be close when he goes to Tortuga.”  Victoria nodded.  She knew the power and number of the Romanov Warships.  She thought about it and wondered why her father had not escorted the Starliner with the fleet when it went to Kellinger.  Then she realized that he wanted the ship attacked.  He didn’t care if she died in the process.  Her eyes narrowed and she vowed to make him pay for that decision one day.  But it might not be a day in the near future.

• • •

They arrived at Jester and Gem looked at Victoria, “Leonidas is due tomorrow.  Do you want to go down to the planet, have a meal, and take a look around before he arrives?”

Victoria looked at Desiree and she nodded.  “Let’s plan to go down around dinner time.”  Gem nodded and left the bridge.  Victoria inhaled and blew out a long breath, “If you don’t mind, I’d prefer to be left alone tonight; I don’t want to go dancing.”

Desiree nodded, “I understand.  I’m going to change into my Maid Desiree outfit.”

“Are you taking your sword?”

Desiree smiled, “Of course, aren’t you?”

Victoria smiled, “I’d feel naked without it, now.  It grows on you.”  Desiree laughed and left the bridge.

• • •

They arrived at M’s at seven in the evening and the Maître D smiled, “It’s good to see you again, Lady Victoria.  Would you like your usual table?”

Victoria’s straightened up in surprise and she stammered, “Yes…Uhhh…certainly.”  The same waitress appeared and led them across the crowed floor. 

They took their seats and Victoria looked at Gem with her eyebrows raised, “Victoria, I’m certain they have recognition hardware installed at the entrance.  That’s the sign of a first class establishment.”

They sat down and the waiter appeared instantly, “May I take your drink orders?”

They gave it and after a moment they looked around the large room.  Victoria nudged Desiree with her elbow, “Isn’t that the same man that was at the bar the last time we were here?”

Gem answered, “Yes, it is.”  The three looked across the bar and saw the man talking with a very voluptuous woman that was all over him.  They scanned the room and saw numerous patrons were using their communication devices to take pictures of the man.

Victoria turned to Gem, “I thought you said this was not the norm.”

“He doesn’t appear to be under any duress.”  Gem watched the man closely and after a few minutes, the man stood up and headed toward the entrance.  Gem stood up and moved quickly across the crowded dance floor toward the entrance as well.

“What is he doing?” Desiree asked.

“I don’t know.” Victoria answered.

Gem arrived at the entrance immediately after the man exited and stood inside the front glass as he watched the man head across the street.  He went to a tiny ship where he was confronted by an alien.  It happened so quickly that Gem was only able to see it due to his enhanced vision.  The alien’s head was cut off so fast that the man’s movements went unnoticed by anyone around him.  The man saw Gem staring at him from inside the tavern as he boarded the small ship. He left the alien lying on the ground as the small ship lifted above the street.  In a moment, he was gone. 

Gem stared at the alien’s body until several security guards arrived.  He then turned and headed back to the table.  He took his seat and Desiree asked, “What was that all about?”

“That man was here so that someone could take a recording of him.  Once he was sure that was done, he left.”

Victoria nodded, “I saw that in the pattern.”

“Well, one of those that took his image attempted to stop him from leaving.”

“And?” Desiree asked.

Gem looked at them, “The alien had his head removed by the man faster than any of us could have done it.  He was also carrying a Bellingham Sword.”  Both women stared at Gem in disbelief.   He assured them, “If I hadn’t seen it, I wouldn’t believe it.  Somewhere in that man’s past his body underwent some sort of training similar to yours.  He had the sword out and back in the scabbard in less than a three tenths of a second.”

“That’s not possible!”

“Desiree, I saw it happen.”

“Why do you think he wanted his photo taken?”

“He wants someone to come here looking for him.”

“Should we leave?”

“No.  I want to speak to him if he comes back.”

The two women looked at each other and wondered why the man wanted to be found.  Their meal arrived and they ate it in silence.  After a few minutes, Victoria looked at Desiree, “You know, we’ve visited several galaxies and in none of them are humans hiring themselves out as mercenaries.  What prompted you to become one?”

Desiree sighed, “I actually followed a man I was interested in into the Legion.  However, he managed to get himself killed in our first battle.  But what was done was done and I had to complete my enlistment.  When it came time to re-up, I felt comfortable with the people I was fighting with and really didn’t have anything to return to, so, I signed up again.”

“You didn’t have a problem killing other beings?” Gem asked.

Desiree shrugged, “The CO found planets that needed our help in fighting off some pretty vicious organizations.  I think he knew if he signed on to a planet on the wrong side of things, he would lose his command.  Most of those we killed deserved it.”

“But…”  Victoria paused and shook her head, “I just don’t know if I could have killed another being if I didn’t have any skin in the game.”

“When you’ve seen females and young children massacred in horrendous ways, it’s not real hard to find the motivation to prevent more killing.  For the most part, we saved more lives than we took.  If you wonder why we did it in the first place, you need look no further than Barney and his warriors that were stranded on that planet.  They were barely able to survive and that was the situation most of us were in that signed up.  After the Legion was disbanded, most of us suffered afterwards.”

Victoria nodded, “I’ve heard that life on Earth is not very good.”

Desiree nodded, “There’s never enough food to go around and the prices are outrageous.  Joining the Legion probably saved my life.”

Gem glanced at them as he watched the front door, “Humans have become mercenaries a lot more often than either of you think.”

“Oh?  Why do you make that statement?  My Legion was the only human one I knew about,” Desiree replied.

“What do you think a Pirate is?  They go out and attack other ships in an organized military fashion.  They can also be hired to do it for others and the most successful Pirates are humans.  John Blakely is a good example of that.”

“We were not Pirates!!” Desiree said sternly.

“Desiree, you can call it what you want but your actions match up very closely with pirates.  Victoria and Leonidas believe that Blakely was hired by someone in Romanov’s Business to attack the Starliner she was on.  That is mercenary behavior.”

Victoria lowered her head, “I’ve pretty much lived in the lap of luxury my entire life.  I’ve never wanted for anything but I really haven’t been very happy.”

“Why not?” Desiree asked.

“I don’t know.  I guess at some level I could tell that my parents really didn’t love me and my sister.  I was forced to only associate with people that were trusted by the company and had to have guards go out with me wherever I went.  Now that I know we were bought and used as a target for kidnappers or as agents to carry out dangerous assignments, my suspicions were validated.  I knew in my heart that my family was ruthless in their business dealings and I didn’t feel good about what we did most of the time.  I have to say that being on this ship has been the best time of my life.”  She looked at Gem, “Your gift of Victoria’s DNA changed me.  I’ve enjoyed our time out partying on different planets.  I guess I’m more outgoing than I was before the change.  Desiree, you are as close to me as my own sister.”

Desiree raised the corner of her mouth, “It has been fun.”  Victoria nodded and knew Leonidas would be showing up the next day.  She wondered how that was going to go.  She glanced at Desiree and knew he would have to make a choice between them eventually.  She didn’t know if she wanted that to happen…yet.  She needed more time with him to make him see she was the one he needed in his life.  Besides, she was rich enough to turn his head.  She wondered if that made her like her father.  And would wealth attract Leo or possibly push him away?

• • •

Leonidas looked at the monitor and saw that Jester was about eight hours away from their current position.  He looked at Barney, “You have the ship.  I’m going to take a break to get some sleep.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Leonidas left the bridge and went to his quarters.  He fought to find sleep but kept thinking about what could be done about the Romanovs searching for Victoria’s ship.  He knew that Victoria was interested in him and so was Desiree.  That kept swirling around in his thoughts as well.  He also thought about how Mark had deceived him about Desiree and between the three issues, sleep was impossible.

He forced himself to focus on each item one at a time.  Victoria may just have to stay out of the Romanov’s galaxy.  She was safe as long as she didn’t come back.  He realized they would think differently but that was the most logical thing to do.

“Which of the two women had his attention?  Well…both of them did.  They were different from each other but both of them were attractive in their own ways.  Desiree shared a common history with him and shared his fighter’s soul.  Victoria had an innocence that made him want to protect her.  She was also pretty strong of spirit and would take on anyone that threatened her family or friends.  She was also incredibly wealthy.  He thought about the wealth and decided that it really wasn’t important to him.  It was nice but not something he craved.  He did fine before he met her and would continue to be fine after she was gone.

He sat up straight.  Something in his subconscious was telling him that he would not stay with her; he was already looking at life without her in it.  Did he feel the same way about Desiree?  He wasn’t sure.  Either way, this was not a decision he was going to make now.

What about going after Mark’s killer?  Ummm…Mark used him and deceived him about Desiree over the years…but…Mark took him in when he was a starving seventeen year old on Earth and gave him a home and purpose in the Legion.  The reason Mark deceived him was he didn’t want to lose him.  He was selfish in doing it but his affection was clear.  Mark must have seen that if he knew about Desiree, he would have eventually chosen to go with her.  Desiree was a strong willed woman and wouldn’t be easily controlled by Mark.  He was given his purple card as a result of Mark’s decision to fight off the pirates attacking a Unity ship.  Neither of them knew the President of the Unity was on that vessel and he later rewarded him with a Purple Card.  Mark would have received one as well but died in the aftermath.  It took the President a while to find his savior and thank him for saving him.  Leo closed his eyes and remembered when Mark promoted him the first time in the middle of a battle on Haden.  He could almost smell the ozone and burning trees from the heavy blaster beams that had his platoon pinned down.

• • •

The Platoon was trapped behind a line of burned out trees.  The Lieutenant had just been vaporized by a blaster beam from the center heavy blaster bunker two hundred yards in front of them and sticking one’s head up to check out the three bunkers facing them was an invitation to join the Lieutenant.  Captain Anderson’s voice came over the communication links and everyone in the platoon heard him say, “Corporal Piper!  You’re promoted to Lieutenant and you will take your platoon and take out those three blaster bunkers in front of your position now!!”

Leo keyed his link, “But Sir, there are others in the platoon that outrank me…”

“I know who’s in your platoon!  Now follow your orders and take them out.  This war is lost if we don’t break through those blasters.  Now get moving!!”

Leo looked around and saw the other members of the platoon were all staring at him; they knew they were all about to die.  Leo looked at Carl laying on the ground next to him and said, “You should be the one doing this!”

“Forget it, Lieutenant!  I’m perfectly happy hugging this piece of dirt I’ve grown quite fond of in the last ten minutes!”

A brilliant blaster beam flashed over their heads and a tree two hundred yards behind them exploded into flames.  Leo rolled over on his back and keyed the platoon’s frequency.  “First squad will remain here and dig in.  Second squad will belly crawl fifty yards to the left and dig in there.  Third squad will crawl fifty yards to the right and dig in.  I want the Automatic Heavy Projectile Guns in each squad to be set up on their tripods and sighted in on the bunker directly in front of each squad.  Second Squad has the one on the left, First Squad has the center bunker, and third squad has the one on the right.  Now get this straight; you will sight in on the openings to those bunkers and on my command open fire and don’t stop.  I don’t care if we run out of munitions doing this, we’re dead if we don’t pull this thing off and saving rounds won’t do us any good.”  Leo paused and said, “Jeff, Chuck, Billy, and Glenny pick up two explosive packs each and be ready to jump up and start sprinting between first and second squad’s fire toward the bunkers.  Carl, Jack, Embree, and I will do the same between first and third squads’ fire. We will stay between their lines of fire so the rest of you keep those bunkers sighted in and don’t lose your sight pictures. The only way we’re going to make it to those bunkers is for everyone to fire everything they have at the openings to those emplacements and keep it going.  If you let up, they’ll raise their armor covers and all of us running toward them are dead.  Report in when you’re ready to fire.”

“First Squad Projectile Gun is locked on target.  All shoulder blasters are locked on target.”

“Second Squad is also ready.”

“Third is ready, Sir.”

Jack looked at Leo, “Sir, you’re in command now.  Shouldn’t you send someone else?”

Leo said over the link where everyone could hear, “I’ve chosen the fastest runners in the platoon.  That includes me.  We win or lose using our best elements to make it happen.”

Carl looked at Leo, “Care to make a wager on my beating you to the bunker?”

“What would you like to wager?”

“I’ve always wanted a certain gold watch.”

“Alright, Carl.  If I ever get to a point where I can afford it, I’ll get you that watch.  What do I get if I beat you?”

“Nothing, Sir.  That’s for choosing me to do this.  Now I at least have a reason to leave this beautiful patch of dirt.”

“What’s the matter, Carl?  Do you want to live forever?”

“Tomorrow would be just fine by me, Sir,” Carl replied.

  Leo chuckled, “We’re going do this or I’ll have the record for the shortest promotion on record.”

“Sorry, Sir.  Lieutenant Madden was blown up by an enemy rocket the moment after he received word about his promotion a week ago.  You’re already two minutes behind his time,” Embree said over the link.

Leo rolled his eyes as he pushed two explosive packs into his pouch, adjusted his shoulder blaster’s quick swivel sling, and said, “Well, let’s hope I don’t take second place.  Alright, on my command, open fire with everything you’ve got; ready…FIRE!”

Leo heard the heavy projectiles leaving the three squads and he used his arms to push himself up to his feet, jumped over the burned tree trunk directly in front of him, and started sprinting toward the three bunkers two hundred yards away.  He jumped over on a fallen tree trunk and leapt over a blast depression.  The smoke from the burning trees obscured the view ahead but he cleared the last of the trees and saw the bunkers directly ahead as a brilliant wall of blaster fire passed him on both sides.  He focused on the three bunkers in front of him and saw that the clear armor blast covers had come down over the bunker openings.  The brilliant sparks of the heavy projectiles hitting the three bunkers and ricocheting away were almost mesmerizing as he passed the half way point and zigged around another blast crater.  He was ten yards ahead of Carl as he approached a hundred and fifty yards into the run and he could actually see one of the soldiers in the center bunker pointing at him as he jumped up and down.  He leaned into the sprint and saw the blaster cover start to rise but a volley of heavy projectiles forced the blaster crew to slam it shut.  He knew the blaster crew wasn’t going to just sit still and he narrowed his eyes and focused on the center and right bunkers.  When he was ten yards out from the central blaster, he saw three enemy soldiers come out from behind the bunker and raise their weapons.  He slid to a stop and went to a knee as he raised his shoulder blaster in an instant and quick fired a blaster bolt across the three soldiers cutting them in half.  He jumped back up as Carl ran past him and threw himself against the center blaster’s wall.

“Go get the one on the right and get back here!” Leo ordered Carl.

Carl ran toward the right bunker as Jack used his shoulder blaster to kill any enemy soldiers that stuck their head out of the back opening.  Leo pointed toward the left and Embree rushed around the center bunker toward the bunker on the left; he arrived without being seen.  He glanced out at the platoon and saw that Billy and Glenny were pinned down.  Jeff and Chuck’s bodies were on the ground smoking to their right.  He slammed an explosive pack on the blaster’s wall, turned, and ran at his best speed toward the center blaster.  He dove after thirty yards and felt a giant explosion behind him rock the ground under him.  A moment later, the ground was rocked by the second blaster’s destruction.  He jumped up after the shockwaves passed and continued to run toward the center bunker.

Leo saw Embree and Carl place their explosive packs, he counted off in his mind, and then yelled, “EVERYONE DOWN!!”  Embree was already prone but Carl was still running when he heard Leonidas.  Jack, Carl and Leo hit the ground together and pushed their faces into the dirt.  Four enemy soldiers came rushing out of the center bunker and started to raise their shoulder blasters when the explosive packs went off and all four soldiers were blown apart by the debris coming at them from both sides.

Leo shook his head trying to remove the cobwebs as he jumped to his feet.  He staggered up to the open back entrance on the center blaster, raised his shoulder blaster, and shot the two surviving enemy soldiers through the chest as they struggled to shake off the effects of the two blasts.  Leo yelled out, “CARL, GET IN HERE!!  JACK, EMBREE, COVER US AND HAVE BILLY AND GLENNY JOIN YOU WHEN THEY ARRIVE!”

Carl came running into the bunker and Leo pointed at a large metal wheel to the left, “Turn the wheel!”

“What?”

“Turn that wheel!  We have two more levels of enemy blasters above us on this hill!”  Carl grabbed the wheel and began turning it as fast he could.  The turret housing the heavy blaster began turning slowly to the left and Leonidas prayed the enemy forces above them wouldn’t charge before he could get the heavy blaster turned.  The blaster bunkers behind them were at a decided disadvantage.  They could fire straight ahead or raise the barrels of their blasters to fire at aircraft…but they could not depress the blaster barrels enough to fire on the bunkers directly below them.  Leo saw the slope of the hill moving around in his vision and saw enemy troops start moving down from the next line of blasters.  “KEEP TURNING, CARL!!”  He turned the heavy blaster’s barrel and began firing at the approaching troops as well as the blaster bunker to the right above their position.  Jack came rushing into the bunker and took the wheel with Carl and they turned it as fast as they could.  Finally, the bunker’s opening was centered on the hill and Leo began firing the brilliant beam across the slope ahead of them burning all three enemy bunkers in the next line above them along with the enemy forces moving down the hill toward them.  Leo shook his head as he moved the heavy blaster back and forth across the slope.  “We could use some help!”

Carl was lying on the floor with both hands on his shoulders, “You’ll have it shortly.  You owe me a watch!”

Leo said over his shoulder, “If I hadn’t stopped and fired at those three warriors, you wouldn’t have an arm to put it on.”

Carl waved an arm and grimaced, “You should have done it on the run!”

Jack started laughing and, after a moment, Leo joined him.  Carl watched them and said, “YOU OWE ME A WATCH!”  Jack laughed even harder.

Jack looked out of the open back entrance to the bunker and saw the platoon was arriving and setting up around it.  Right behind the platoon, the rest of A Company was moving across the blasted terrain in mobile troop carriers.  With the blasters removed from the hill, the Legion’s attack fighters came roaring in overhead hitting the hill with a massive missile launch making the entire top of the hill look on fire.

Leo lowered his arms from the blaster controls in exhaustion and saw Captain Anderson stick his head into the bunker.  Leo looked up at him and Mark smiled, “You done good, Piper!  Your platoon will remain here and recover while we clean up the rest of the enemy positions.”

“Yes, Sir.”

The platoon dug in and they knew the new Lieutenant had their support and loyalty.  He had placed himself in the most dangerous position and they knew he would do everything possible to keep them safe.  They had no doubts about his bravery.

• • •

Leo opened his eyes and sighed.  That battle broke the enemy’s lines and the Legion poured through the break and rolled them up.  Captain Anderson was promoted to Colonel in command of First Battalion and his first act was to promote Leonidas to take command of A Company.  That was how it worked from that moment forward; Mark would be promoted and Leonidas was immediately promoted to take his former position.  Leo knew that Mark had manipulated him…but…he still deserved his respect; Mark’s killer should pay a price for his death.  He lay on the bed, closed his eyes, and after a few minutes, sleep finally found him.

Chapter Thirteen

Gold looked at Gem in his private quarters and twisted his triangular shaped head to the right, “I thought you must be wrong about this metal but it appears it’s even stronger than I thought.  Where did you say it comes from?”

“A planet named Bellingham.  I’ve seen another human recently with a sword like this one and it appeared someone was attempting to capture him.  I don’t know who trained him but his actions showed he’s further advanced than the three humans I’ve trained, which also means he’s faster than either of us.”

“What?!  How is that possible?” Gold asked incredulously.

“I have no idea.”  Gem pressed a button on his console and Gold watched the human kill the alien outside the tavern.  He started twisting his head from side-to-side and Gem said, “There is another agency somewhere capable of training humans to an extremely high level of efficiency.”

“You were right about Humans being dangerous.  This supports that view.”

Gem nodded and asked, “What did you decide about the question I asked you?”

Gold blew out air through his breathing tube, “You are right.  I possess no consideration for any other species than my own.  I think that comes from being raised only within our society.  Coming out here has shown me a larger view of the universe we inhabit and has changed how I see it.  The humans that possess this metal represent a real threat to us.”

“No they don’t,” Gem corrected him.

“Gem, this metal would make them far ahead of us technologically.  A warship coated in this would be indestructible.”

“But that doesn’t mean they’re a danger.  It just means we should see if we can acquire it for our own use.”

Gold raised his thorax in a shrug, “That is something we’ll have to take a look at in the future.”

Gem clacked his agreement, “Are you ready to go to the meeting?  Leonidas is moving this way now.”

“What are we going to do about this Romanov issue?” Gold asked.

Gem clacked again at Gold before saying, “Let’s see if the humans have figured out anything.”  Gem turned and left his quarters with Gold following close behind him.

• • •

Leonidas exited the shuttle and the crew in the landing bay cheered his arrival.  Jack saluted him and smiled, “I’m taking you to the conference room, Sir.”

Leo returned his salute and then hugged him, “It’s good to see all of you again.  I understand you’ve handled a couple of pirate ships.”

Jack laughed, “Yes, we did!  Follow me.”

“I know where it is, Jack.  I was present when this ship was built.”

“There’s been some changes, Sir.  The conference room is not where it was originally.  Gem expanded the training room into the former conference room and his former lab is now the conference room.”

“Oh.  Then I’m glad you’re here.  You’ve saved me some steps walking to the front of the ship.”  They arrived at the new conference room just as Gold and Gem entered the door.  “Gem, it’s good to see you.”

“And you as well, Leonidas!  Welcome aboard.”

Leonidas entered the room and Desiree and Victoria came out of their chairs to embrace him.  He returned their hugs and smiled, “It’s really good to see both of you again.  How did your training go?”

“Just like you said; it was incredibly painful and we’re glad that’s over,” Victoria replied.  She smiled and said, “Gem has a sword for you.”

Leo looked at her, “A sword?”

Gem clacked, “I’ll show it to you after the meeting.”  Leo smiled and Gem looked around the room, “Why don’t we sit down and start this meeting?”  Everyone went to their chairs and Gem clacked and then said, “The main issue we have to discuss is the Romanovs looking for Victoria’s ship.  Does anyone have ideas on how we’re going to handle this problem?”

Everyone was silent and Leo smiled, “I took a nap before coming here and before I went to sleep, I thought that the only way to deal with this is for Victoria to remain away from our Galaxy…”

“But that won’t work!” Victoria interrupted.”  Leo looked at her and she quickly added, “I’ll have to go back to collect funds to continue our travels.  The master account is in our galaxy and I’m running low now.”

Leo smiled, “I understand that.”  He looked at Gem, “The problem is what is going to happen when the Romanovs find Victoria, right?”

“Pretty much,” Gem answered.

“What will a DNA scanner determine when it’s pointed at her?  Won’t it show that she is not the one they’re searching to find?” Leo asked.

“That’s true.”

Victoria and Desiree’s heads went back and Leo smiled, “Then we just need to let them scan her and that should resolve the issue.”

Desiree tilted her head, “Are you saying that Victoria’s DNA now matches the former Victoria?”

Gem tilted his head to the left, “Yes it does.”

“Then this is not the problem I thought it was,” Desiree said as she sat back in her chair.

Leo nodded and Gem looked around at the gathering, “You’ve not thought it through completely.”

Leo jerked around to Gem as his eyes narrowed, “What am I missing?”

“They will think that Victoria is not the one they’re searching to find but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll be satisfied that Romanov’s daughter is not on her ship.”

The room was silent and Leo closed his eyes and sighed.  Victoria looked at him, “Why is that a problem?”

“Because they will want to come on board and scan all of the crewmembers.  If they do that, what will they discover?”

Victoria shook her head, “I’m not sure what you mean?”

Desiree sighed, “They will find out that everyone on this ship served with Leonidas in the Legion.  They will know that you and he are connected.”

Leo nodded, “And they will put two and two together and know that Romanov’s daughter was with a man when she disappeared.  Their suspicions will only be heightened by that discovery.”

“They already know that our two ships are connected,” Victoria stated.  “All we need is a plausible cover story on how that connection happened.”

Embree spoke up, “Have either of you thought about explaining how Victoria was on Kellinger at the same time this Romanov Daughter disappeared?  Whatever story you concoct will have to include that piece of information.”

Barney nodded, “Not only her, but the story will also have to include Leonidas being there as well.”

“Just how rich is Victoria supposed to be?” Carl asked.  Everyone turned to him and he shrugged, “I’ve watched Victoria on the planets we’ve visited and she appears to be a rather wanton woman spending credits like there’s no end to them, no offense, My Lady.”

“None taken,” Victoria responded.

“Anyway,” Carl continued, “She could have just picked up Leonidas on Kellinger after he left the Starliner and bribed him to provide her a crew along with instructions on how to build a new pleasure yacht.”

“But Leonidas may have been recorded on Kellinger with Romanov’s daughter,” Desiree added.

Leonidas smiled, “That didn’t happen.  I was using my electronic defenses built in the card to prevent that.” Victoria shook her head and Leonidas said, “What?”

“My sister saw me going with you when we left the Starliner.  I told her that I was going to use you to avenge the death of Lyla and my former husband.”

Desiree looked at her, “Former husband?”

“I’ll explain it later, Desiree.”

“Explain it now!”

“It can wait, Desiree!” Leonidas said sharply.  Desiree looked at him and then nodded.  “It might still work.”

Gem looked at him, “And how will you cover that item?”

“Victoria will simply say that she encountered me on Kellinger and after a few days, asked if I would assist her in building a new ship.  She’ll tell the Romanovs that I told her that I was with the daughter after the Starliner landed and refused to assist her in extracting revenge against the Pirate that attacked her Starliner.  She’ll tell Romanov that I told her that the daughter told me that she had discovered someone in her family’s business that was going to assist her and she had to go back to the ship to carry out their instructions.”

“That’s stretching it, Leonidas.”

“Not really, Gem.”

“How will you explain the purple card they knew you were carrying?  Remember the proctors that came on board made that determination and I’m pretty certain that Romanov knows about it.”

“I agree, he probably does know a purple card agent was on board but after she went back to the Starliner, there were no images taken of my being with her.”

“What about the Treasury?”

Leo rolled his eyes, “You’re right.  She was seen with a man there but they won’t have a clear image of me; my devices would prevent that.  They might be led to believe that it was someone working against them inside their organization that went with her to the treasury.  They might even believe that she was planning to take the funds out of her account from the beginning at best and may believe she is the one in charge of the Spider’s secret organization at worst.”

Gold spoke up, “They will insist on a meeting with you to confirm her story.”

Leo looked at him and then shrugged, “Probably.”

Billy said quietly, “They will also take an image of Leonidas to the Treasury and ask if it was the man that came with the Daughter originally.”

Everyone looked at Billy, who usually had nothing to say.  Leo chuckled and shook his head, “That is the only hole in the story.  However, I don’t think he’ll tell them it was me.”

“Why not?” Victoria asked.”

“I just don’t think he’ll cooperate with them.  Let’s leave it at that.”

Victoria stared at him and Desiree said, “This story would at least explain our being on this ship.”

“Yes, it would.  But that takes us back to the original question.”  Leo looked at Gem, “Just how rich was Victoria?”  Gem was silent and Leo smiled, “Don’t tell me you don’t know.”

Gem’s thorax swelled and he said, “She originally had about fifty billion credits in her accounts but I convinced her to move them into some stock accounts.  Her current worth is about six hundred billion credits.”  Even Victoria’s eyes went wide with that announcement.

“Do we have access to those accounts?”

Gem shrugged, “Yes.”

“Will you give us the account numbers?” Leo asked.

“Why do you need them?”

Leo tilted his head as he said, “Gem, the original Victoria will never need them.  Why are you so reluctant to allow us to use them?”

Gem blew out a breath, “I don’t know.  It’s something that was a part of her and I’m reluctant to touch anything that was hers.”

Victoria looked at him, “You must have loved her very much.”

Gem looked at her and twisted his head to the left, “I’ll give you the numbers.  Since this Victoria has her DNA, the cards will operate normally.”

“I’m sorry, Gem.  I’ll try not to use any of those funds.”

“Go ahead if you need to, Victoria.  I’m being silly about this.” 

Gold stared at Gem and wondered what was going on.  Gem looked at him and said, “Keep this information between us and no one else.”

“Yes, Majesty.”

“That includes my mother!”

Gold hesitated and said, “If she asks me a direct question about them, I cannot be untruthful with her, Majesty.”

“I realize that but don’t tell her anything that would prompt a question about it.  Am I clear?”

“Yes, Majesty.”

Victoria listened to the exchange and realized that Gem loved Victoria very much.  It was his love for her that caused him to work with them and she wondered how seeing her everyday affected him.  It had to be painful.

Leonidas smiled, “Well, then the only way to put this plan into motion is to be outrageously audacious.”

Everyone looked at him.  Gem smiled, “This is where my ideas agree with you.”

Desiree said, “Audacious?”

Leo nodded, “Yes, you’re going to take the ship to Romania and ask to speak to Serge Romanov about wanting to find your ship.  You’re going to demand why he has sent out orders for your ship to be stopped and searched.  You will act righteously indignant at his attempting to violate your privacy.  You’ll act like the spoiled rich girl you are.”

Everyone stared at Leo and Billy said quietly from the corner of the table, “Just tell them you’ve been visiting other galaxies and one of your lovers informed you when you returned of what was happening.  Tell them you’re outraged at your privacy being violated and just who does he think he is?”

The table was silent and then everyone burst into laughter.  Desiree managed to say, “I think that will be outrageously audacious.”

“What if he wants to see you, Leo?” Victoria asked.

“Give him my contact frequency.”

“When are we going to do this?” Desiree asked.

“In three days.  Both of our crews can use some shore time on Jester.  I’m going to keep the Thermopylae close by Romania in the event something goes wrong.  We should be able to fight our way out if things go bad, Victoria.”

Desiree looked at Victoria and she nodded, “Three days it is.  Let’s go have a party.”

Leonidas nodded and looked at Billy, “Once again you’ve amazed me with your insights.”

Billy smiled, “It comes from being around Carl.”

Carl looked at him and scowled, “Don’t blame me.  You still can’t hold your booze.”

Billy reached in his pouch and pulled out a bottle of water, “I learn quickly.”  Carl tried to maintain his gruff expression but finally gave up and laughed, “I imagine you do.”

• • •

The meeting ended and Victoria went to Gem, “When we go to Romania, I want you to move to Leonidas’ ship.”

Gem looked at her with his head twisted right, “Why?”

“I don’t want you to come to any harm if things go bad.”

“That’s not going to happen.”

“Why not?”

“For the same reason.  I’m not going anywhere!”

Victoria stared at him and put her hand on his arm, “Thank you.”  She went to her toes and kissed Gem on the side of his head.  She then turned and went to her quarters.  Gold watched them and wondered what was going on.  This was highly irregular.

• • •

The Chief of Security appeared on Serge’s wall monitor, “Sir, we have an issue!”

“What is that?”

“The ship we’ve been searching for has just come off the filament and will arrive here in four hours.”

“WHAT?!”

“Yes, Sir.  The owner of the ship has informed Traffic Control that she has a problem with Romanov Industries and is coming to resolve why her privacy is being violated.  It appears she has been informed by someone that we’ve been trying to find her.  I saw the recording of the conversation with Traffic Control and she appears to be quite upset.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!”

“No, Sir.  What do you want me to do?”

Serge sat back in his chair and was stumped at what was happening.  Finally he said, “Well, welcome her to Romania and see if you can figure out what’s going on.”

“Yes, Sir.”  The monitor went dark and Serge thought about the situation.  He finally decided that something weird was happening and pressed a button on his panel.  The Security Chief appeared again and Serge said, “Set up a meeting with this woman and myself.”

“Is that wise, Sir?”

“You will insure that I’m in no danger, won’t you?”

“Of course.”

“Then set up the meeting.  This woman has me curious about her motives.  She has to have some sort of connection with Ana and I intend to find out what it is.”

“Yes, Sir.”

• • •

Desiree looked at her console and read the message that arrived from Traffic Control, “Victoria, your father wants to meet with you personally.”

“What?!”

“He just sent a message along with the location of the restaurant where he’ll meet you.”  Desiree looked at her, “Are you up to this?”

Victoria started shaking her head slightly, “I don’t have a choice.  I’m going to play the role of Victoria and thank goodness I’ve been practicing over the last six months.”

“I’m going with you.”

“I don’t know if that’s wise, Desiree.”

“If I don’t go, then you’ll be breaking form.  I can also help bail you out if things turn dicey.”

“I guess you’re right.  It would also support members of Leonidas’ Unit being present.”

“Hold it together, Girl.”

“I’ll do the best I can.” Victoria answered.

• • •

The Spider looked at the monitor on the console and fell back in the chair.  Now this was not something that was expected.  It did sort of confirm that this woman was not Ana but coming here was crazy…or was it.  If this woman really wasn’t Ana and was as rich as the rumors suggested, then she probably was furious about Serge issuing orders to stop her ship.  But…there had to be some sort of connection to Ana.  Ummm…this was going to be interesting.  The Spider sat back and waited to see what would happen.

• • •

Barney looked up from his console, “Leonidas, Victoria has been summoned to a face-to-face meeting with Serge Romanov.”

“Where?”

“At a restaurant called the Black Flower.”

“Can we get any of our crew there?”

“No, Captain,” Barney answered.  “The restaurant is sold out and no seats are available.”

Leonidas pursed his lips and said, “Have a shuttle from their ship ready to go down if necessary to get them out.”

“They went in with their swords, Sir.”

Leonidas nodded and wondered if they would be allowed to keep them.  He had spent the last three days working with Gold at learning how to use the one Gem purchased for him.  The sword was incredibly dangerous in the hands of an enhanced human.  He still had a lot of work to do learning how to draw it and put it back in the scabbard but he knew they were more dangerous than a blaster in close combat. 

Still, he saw ten Romanov Warships surrounding Victoria’ ship and knew there were fifty more close by.  This was going to be up to Victoria to pull this off.  He should have anticipated Romanov personally meeting with them.  It was too late to back out now.  His ship was not going to make a difference in what was coming.  He looked at Barney and said, “Take us out to the intersection.”

• • •

The Chief of Security watched the two women enter the Black Flower restaurant and saw that one of them was the blonde he had been trying to find for months.  The other woman was dressed in a full dress with puffy sleeves.  His scanners revealed that both of them were carrying something made of metal on their backs inside their clothing.  He looked closer and saw that they had the shape of swords.  This just wouldn’t do.  He waited for them to be escorted to their table and then walked over to them, “Excuse me ladies, but I notice that both of you are carrying weapons.  I cannot allow you to be armed in Mr. Romanov’s presence.”

Desiree stood up, “Then this meeting is over.  Let’s go, my Lady.”

The Chief held up his hands, “Wait a moment, you must understand that Mr. Romanov’s safety must be assured.”

Victoria looked at the Security Chief, “You are carrying a blaster, Sir.  What chance would little ole us have against that?”

Desiree looked around the room and said, “You also have four others in the upper floor with blasters trained on us as we speak.  So it’s fine for you to be armed to the teeth while we aren’t allowed to carry swords that were a gift to My Lady from her former husband?  Remove all of your weapons and we’ll still leave.  My Lady goes nowhere without her sword and she has ordered me to always carry mine when I’m with her.”

“Ladies, I’m sure that…”

Desiree sneered, “You deliberately violate My Lady’s privacy and come armed with blasters.  Have your master sit across the table from us out of harm’s way.  We couldn’t do anything before you shot us.  You can sit with us and keep your blaster pointed at us if you’re that afraid of two simple women.”

The Security Chief stared at them as information came in over his ear-piece.  “You are far from simple ladies.  You are Desiree Daniels and served with the Tenth Human Legion on Regulus.  You are not as defenseless as you insist.”

Desiree smiled, “I’m flattered that you know me.  However, it is my job to defend Victoria Lenora De La Pascal.  Both of us have a job to do and I didn’t bring a blaster because I do respect the importance of Mr. Romanov.  However, the two swords are something My Lady insists on being carried for good luck.  She feels the presence of her former husband through this gift he gave her.  If you rather, we can conduct this meeting over communicators.”

Victoria looked at the Chief and said in a slow drawl, “When I wear my sword, I can feel his presence taking care of me, honey.”

“Excuse me.”  The chief stepped away and contacted Serge.  “Sir, they refuse to take off the swords they have with them.”

“They what?”

“They are both carrying swords under their garments.  The ditzy blonde insists that they represent good luck pieces from her former husband.”

Serge was baffled by the situation and asked, “Could they do anything to harm me with those swords?”

“I don’t think so.  I’m going to sit with you across the large table from them with a blaster in hand and I have eight blasters trained on them if they make any sudden moves toward you.”

“And they refuse to remove them?”

“They do, Sir.  They said to just call off the meeting if they’re forced to give them up.”  Serge hesitated and the Chief said, “They told me to sit beside them with my blaster drawn if I was so frightened by them.”

“Sitting on my side of the table is a good idea.  They are rather bossy, aren’t they?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Have them order their meal and order me my usual.  I want to take a look at them before I come in.”

“Yes, Sir.”  The Chief went back to the table and smiled, “Mr. Romanov says that you may keep your swords.”

“Why thank you, Sir,” the blonde said.

“He requests that you go ahead and order your dinner and he will be here momentarily.”

Victoria smiled at the Chief and batted her eyes, “What would you recommend?”

“Mr. Romanov likes the meat and seafood combination.”

“Then that is what we’ll have as well, right Desiree?”

“Yes, My Lady.”

The Security Chief sat across the table from them and placed his blaster on the table in front of him.  Victoria began asking questions about the restaurant and the planet and the Security Chief had to admit that she was very pleasant company.  He also realized from the DNA scan that was made when they entered that she was definitely not Ana.  He knew that Serge had also received that information by now.  The restaurant was crowed and what the two women didn’t realize was that everyone in the room was a Romanov Security Agent and all of them were armed.  He wondered how the two women would react if they knew it.

Chapter Fourteen

Serge watched the two women talking with his Security Chief on his monitor and saw that the blonde was perfectly at ease while the pretty woman with her kept looking around the restaurant.  Ummm…Desiree Daniels.  She was an officer in the Tenth Legion and was highly respected as a great tactician.  How did she wind up with this bimbo?  Well, it had to do with the man that went to the treasury to set up some accounts a few months back.  Was it the same man that was with Ana when she disappeared?  He wasn’t going to find out staring at this monitor.  He stood up and left the vehicle parked outside the restaurant; his personal body guards followed him inside.

He arrived at the table and smiled, “Good evening ladies, I’m sorry I’m late; I was held up by a small issue.”

Desiree looked at him, “Checking out our DNA scans, I imagine.”

Serge looked at Desiree and smiled, “As a matter of fact, that is exactly why I’m running late.”  The waiters arrived with their meals as Serge sat down across the table from them, “Please, enjoy your food.  We can talk while we eat.”

Serge’s bodyguards stood behind him with drawn blasters and stared at the two women.  Victoria smiled and said, “I’ve heard ever so much about you, Mr. Romanov.”

“Please, call me Serge.”

“You are one of the wealthiest people in the universe and you’ve accomplished so much, Sir.”  She forced her feelings out of her mind as she smiled at the man who she had once called father.  It was all she could do to not come across the table and cut that arrogant expression off his face.

Serge looked at Victoria and couldn’t decide if she was being honest or not.  “Why, thank you for your kind words.  I understand that you came here to question why I’ve been trying to locate your ship.”

Victoria waved the hand without a fork at him as she took a bite of the fish, “That was Desiree’s doing.  She insisted we come here.”  Victoria looked at her, “Isn’t that right, Honey?”

Forcing a smile, Serge turned to the pretty woman with short dark hair and blue eyes and asked, “Why would you want to do that?”

Desiree’s expression was all business as she glanced at the two body guards behind Serge, “Because it’s foolish to allow someone to surround your vessel in open space without witnesses to see what’s going on.  It’s also bad tactics.  If you have issues with us, it’s better to confront them and get them out of the way publicly.”

Serge took a bite of meat and said, “Go on.”

“If you have an issue with us, we should resolve it without delay.”

“Why is that?”

“Because if you confronted My Lady while she was among friends, it would frighten them away and that is not something Lady Victoria likes to happen.”

Victoria nodded as she looked at the two body guards, “You know how it is, blasters have a way of doing that, Dahling.  First thing you know, someone opens fire and the party will end abruptly.  I just deplore ending a party before its time.”

Serge stared at Victoria and wondered if this loon was for real.  He turned back to Desiree, who appeared to at least have some intelligence and said, “I am searching for one of my daughters and I have reason to believe that you might have something to do with her disappearance.”

“What?  You have in your mind that I know your daughter, Honey?” Victoria answered instead of Desiree.

“You appear to know the man she was last seen with.”

Victoria looked at Desiree with raised eyebrows, “Who is he talking about, Desiree?”

Desiree looked at Serge, “Are you talking about Leonidas?”

Serge took another bite, “I am, if he was the one on the Starliner with her.”

Desiree looked at Victoria, “Did he mention another woman to you when you first met him, my lady?”

“No…well…I don’t think it was this daughter you’re looking to find.  He wasn’t with a woman when I ran across him.”

Serge’s eyes narrowed, “What did he tell you?!”

Victoria batted her eyes as she took another bite of fish.  She looked up at the ceiling focusing and said, “When I first met Leonidas, he told me that he had some crazy woman trying to hire him to go after some pirate but he told her to forget it.  He said she was acting foolish.”

“Go on.”

“There’s not much else to tell.  She told him that she was going to meet someone that worked inside her family’s business to do something about something in a safe or something.  He mentioned that he didn’t see her after she left to go back to the Starliner.  I met him after that and decided to hire him to help me acquire a ship and crew.”

“Who was this person she was going to meet?”

Victoria raised both hands, “He didn’t say, Dahlin.  You should ask him.  I don’t ask my male friends anything about other women; it seems to make them nervous most of the time for some reason.  By the way, Serge, are you married?”

Serge stared at the woman and wondered if anyone was as ditzy as this woman appeared to be.  He turned to Desiree, “And I suppose he suggested that she hire former members of his unit to crew her ship?”

Desiree smiled, “Can you think of anyone better qualified to take care of her?  And she asked if you are married?”

Desiree stared into Serge’s eyes and he said, “Lieutenant, you need to keep in mind just where you are.”

Desiree smiled sweetly, “I am.”  Serge stared at her and his eyes narrowed as she continued, “Your body guards have pretty much given away that everyone in this restaurant is one of your employees.”

“And just how did they do that?” the Security Chief quickly asked.

Desiree looked at him, “They haven’t looked at anyone but us; normally, they would be watching the entire room.  That is a clear indicator that they aren’t worried about anyone else here tonight.  My Lady is not capable of using her sword, but I assure you I am.”

Serge lowered his eyes and sneered, “And you think you could get to me before you are killed?”

“If I didn’t think so we wouldn’t have come.”

Victoria said, “Desiree, Desiree, Desiree, I’ve taught you to be polite when we’re invited out.  We’ve told Mr. Romanov that we don’t know anything about his daughter and that should clear up any misunderstandings between us.”  She looked at Serge, “Isn’t that so, Mr. Romanov?”  Victoria batted her eyes at Serge.

Serge realized two things in that instant; first, this idiot didn’t know anything about Ana and second, that woman might just be able to do what she was saying.  Desiree looked at Victoria and said, “My Lady, Traffic Control told you to mention your purchase to Mr. Romanov when we arrived.”

Serge’s head went back as Victoria hit her forehead with her palm, “Silly me; I forgot.  Is it important?”  Desiree nodded.  Victoria shrugged and turned to Serge, “Desiree insisted I purchased a Cartian Personal Protection Insurance Policy before we left orbit.  I’m not sure why she demanded I do it but I always do what she insists on.”

Serge stared at Victoria and said in a deliberate tone, “Why would you do something like that?”

Victoria pouted, “Desiree insisted.  Did I do something wrong, Mr. Romanov?”

Serge looked at Desiree and she shrugged as she said, “Perhaps a room full of blasters and security agents would call for it.  They were quite willing to sell it to us because we were meeting with you and felt the risk to us was exceedingly small.”  Desiree paused and tilted her head, “Is it small, Mr. Romanov?”

Serge knew that he would not do anything to these two, his ships would lose the use of filaments for six months if he did.  He smiled and looked at Victoria, “I must complement you on your protector.”

“Why thank you, Serge.  She has kept me out of trouble many times while we been visiting other galaxies.”

“Other Galaxies?”

“Why yes.  I would highly recommend you visit Jester.  It’s not too far from here and it has some great entertainment establishments.”  Victoria tilted her head and cooed at Serge, “However, none of the men there are anywhere near as handsome and wealthy as you are, Dahlin.”

Serge looked at Desiree, “I need the contact number of this Leonidas.”

Desiree looked at the Chief of security and began reciting the numbers.  Serge stared at the Chief until he nodded.  Desiree stared at Serge, “Does this clear up any issues between us?”

Serge stared at her for a long moment and then smiled, “I will need to discuss this with Leonidas but, for the moment, it does.”

Victoria smiled and lifted her glass.  Desiree pulled her up by the arm and said, “It’s time to go, My Lady.”

She almost spilled it but managed to catch herself.  She looked at Serge with wide eyes, “Perhaps we can get together again to do some dancing?”

Serge rolled his eyes and shook his head, “I’m sorry.  I’m much too busy to go out dancing.”

Victoria lowered her eyes and smiled, “You should make time; you might find it’s more fun than you think.”

“Thank you, I’ll think about it.”

Desiree led Victoria out of the restaurant and Serge watched them leave.  The Security Chief said, “Do you want them followed?”

“To what end?  If there’s anything to be found out, that Leonidas fellow is the one that would have the information.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Serge looked at him, “Do you think she could have harmed me?”

“I don’t see any way she could…but she genuinely believed she could.”  Serge nodded.  He saw it in the woman’s eyes as well.  “We could arrange a little run in with a pirate, Sir,” the Chief suggested.

Serge thought about it and shook his head, “If they had anything to hide, they would have just stayed in the other galaxies they were visiting.”

“Could they be hiding Ana on their ship?”

“I thought about that but if they were, do you think they would have come here?”

The Chief thought about it and shook his head, “No, they wouldn’t take the chance of us searching their ship.  That body guard was right about coming here to clear things up.  Our ships did not detect any armaments on their yacht.”

“If you had to guess, do you think they have any?”

“I have no doubt they do.  That Lieutenant would insist on arming the ship.”  The Chief paused, “Do you want me to contact this Leonidas fellow?”

“Yes, I do.  You’re the best I have at seeing if someone is lying.  Find out what he’s doing; I might want to hire him to see if he can find Ana.”

“How would he be able to do something we can’t, Sir?”

“Because she knows him and might come out into the open if she learns he’s looking for her.  She might have gone to Tortuga to try and get revenge on this Blakey Pirate.”

“I doubt she’d do it herself.”

“I know, but she can hire someone to do it and if this Leonidas fellow can catch the one she hires, he can trace her back to where she’s hiding.  Her working with the mole in my business has me concerned.”

“I’ll make the contact in the morning, Sir.”

“Let me know what you find out.”

“Yes, Sir.”

• • •

Victoria boarded the shuttle and was steaming.  “I should have killed the arrogant bastard!!”  She looked at Desiree, “And why did you up and threaten him in a room full of security agents armed with blasters?!”

“I needed to take their attention away from you, Victoria!  I saw in the pattern that you were considering doing something stupid and had to do something to stop you!!”

Victoria took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, “I wanted so much to separate his head from his shoulders.  It was all I could to do to keep that silly grin on my face going when I so wanted to kill him.”

“Did you consider while you were thinking about killing him that if you did attack him and you were killed, all of the members of our and Leonidas’ crew would have lost their retirement pay?”

Victoria’s shocked expression showed she didn’t, “I forgot all about that!”  Victoria shook her head, “I’d never want that to happen!”

“Then in the future, keep it in mind and don’t forget it!” Desiree said sternly.

Victoria fell back in her chair, “Thank you, Desiree.  I just want to kill Serge more than I can say.”

“You’ll have a chance someday when he least expects it.  For now, we need to keep a low profile.”

“What are we going to do now?”

“Stay in character and go party hard somewhere.  I’m reasonably certain that Serge will still have us followed depending on whether or not Leonidas can convince him otherwise.  However, I must commend you on your performance.  Serge thought you were as dumb as a stump and even that Security Chief didn’t pick up on your hatred.  Are you ok?”

Vitoria sighed heavily, “I guess.  I keep trying to tell myself that as far as Serge is concerned, getting me killed wasn’t personal.  I was a paid for asset and he’d use me the way he felt would help him the most.”

“Victoria, he would have had to tell you someday what was going on.”

“Why?”

“Because you are his closest living relative, according to the world at large.  One day he would have to trot his real beneficiaries out to leave them his estate.  That’s when you would have found out.”

Victoria’s eyes widened and then immediately narrowed, “Desiree, do you not think he would arranged a couple of accidents to remove me and my sister before that became an issue?  I suspect that’s part of the reason he sent all of us on that Starliner together along with my nephew.  He was hoping that pirate would kill us one by one to force his twin to reveal the safe combination.”

Desiree stared at her and blew out a hard breath, “You’re right.  And when the wrong combination was given, he would have continued killing your family thinking the twin was lying.  He was hoping that pirate would have killed all of you and that would remove you as a future problem.  If it didn’t happen this time, he would have arranged it again.”  Desiree lifted her communicator, “Jack, get the ship ready to exit the planet.”

“Wait a minute!”  Desiree turned to Victoria.  “If we’re supposed to be in role, how can we just pick up and leave when this planet has so many party spots calling our name?”

Desiree smiled, “Now that is incredibly, outrageously audacious!  Jack, cancel that order and tell the crew they are being given shore leave.”

“ARE YOU SERIOUS, CAPTAIN!?”

“Yes, I am.  Choose the crewmen to go with Victoria and me and give the others shore time.”

“How long will we be here?” Jack asked.

Desiree looked at Victoria, “The Cartian Insurance Policy is good for a week.”  Victoria shrugged and Desire smiled, “Six days, Jack.  Let the crew know.”

“Sir, Traffic Control will insist that some of their security guards go down with you and be present wherever the two of you go.  They will have to pay off if something happens to you and I’m sure they will make sure nothing does.”

“That makes it even better.  Romanov will be crapping bricks hoping that nothing does happen to us while we’re here.  Set it up and make another reservation for the restaurant we just left.”

“Yes, Sir, if you say so.”

“I say so, Jack.”  Desiree looked at Victoria and saw her smiling, “I think this is a great idea, Victoria.  He’ll be really glad to be rid of us by the time we leave.”

Victoria smiled, “I do think you’re right, Dahlin.  I’m pretty good at getting a fight started over little ole me.”  Desiree burst out laughing.  This was going to be fun.

• • •

The Security Chief arrived home and kissed his wife.  She looked at him and sighed, “Tough day?”

“You have no idea.”  Suddenly, his communicator vibrated.  He took it out of his pocket and saw a Warship Commander on it, “Sir, we have an issue.”

“What is that?”

“Traffic Control just told me the women you met on the planet are headed back down and have given their crew shore leave.”

“WHAT?!”

“Yes, Sir.  Their first stop is the restaurant where they met you.  They say they didn’t finish their meal.  All of our employees have left there by now.”

The Security Chief dropped his head and said, “Check with Traffic Control and see how long that insurance policy is in force.” 

He waited shaking his head and his wife sighed, “You’re going to miss dinner again?”

He heard over his communicator, “It will expire a week from today, Sir.”

The Chief closed his eyes and said, “Thanks for the heads up.”  He pressed a button and saw his second-in-command appear.  “I want an agent assigned to every member of the woman’s crew that is coming down to the planet.  I want one of our best security teams assigned to the two women and make absolutely sure they come to no harm!!  Are you clear on that!?!”

“Yes, Sir.”  The display went dark and he sent a recorded message to Serge.  He looked at his wife, “Let’s start dinner now.  I probably don’t have long.”  She hugged him and ran toward the kitchen.  He was halfway through his meal when Serge ordered him to participate in following the two women.  He finished his meal, hugged his wife, and left for his vehicle.  The pay for his job was great but it was time for him to retire.  Following that twit around for a week was going to be sheer torture.  He had been working for the Romanovs for almost ten years.  It was Serge that introduced him to his wife and taught him everything he knew about security.  He owed Serge a lot, but this job was getting to be too much.  He hoped he didn’t suffer brain damage listening to that twit all week.

His communicator vibrated again and he saw another agent appear, “Sir, that yacht has requested a cleaning crew to come on board to do a thorough cleaning of the ship.”

“I want one of our teams sent to do the cleaning.  All of them will carry a DNA scanner with Ana’s profile in them.”

“What about a regular scanner, Sir?”

“No, I’m sure they’ll be detected before they could get one on board.  I want to make sure Ana isn’t on that ship.  I want everyone on board scanned.”

“Yes, Sir.”

• • •

Desiree arrived on the ship and picked up a communicator, “I want all of your weapon consoles rotated inside the hull.  Billy, make sure the cleaning crew we requested does not come on board with standard scanning devices.  I do expect them to bring DNA scanners so ignore those and make sure they see everyone still on board the ship before they leave.”

“Sir, you’re taking some real risks here.”

“No, not if you keep the consoles inside the hull.”  Desiree pressed another button, “Gem, we’re going to allow a cleaning crew to come on board.  If there’s anything you need to hide, better make it happen quickly.”

“I suppose you’re going to allow them to bring DNA scanners on board?”

Desiree and Victoria smiled, “Yes, Gem we are.”

“Then if you don’t mind, I’ll be hiding inside the hull in my private room.”

“Will you be alright there for a couple of days?”

“I will.”

“They’re due here in the morning.”

“I’ll have it handled by then.”

Desiree looked at Victoria, “Let’s go pretty up and head for the party.”

“I’m right behind you,” Victoria said as she left the bridge.

• • •

Three days later, the Security Chief saw Serge appear on his communicator, “What do you think about all of this mess?”

“Sir, I can unequivocally say that Ana is not on that ship.  The cleaning crew was given access to every room they requested and she was not there.  I imagine that’s why they requested the cleaning crew in the first place.  They knew we would take the opportunity to search the ship and prove to us that we made a mistake.”

“You say they wanted to make sure we understood that they have nothing to hide.”

“That Lieutenant is pretty smart.  She knew we’d still have doubts and wanted to remove them before they left to continue their party circuit.  And I have to tell you that they really party hard.  My security team had to break up at least twenty fights between men chasing that ditzy blonde.  It was pretty clear to me that she deliberately instigated most of them.  She is trouble with a capital T!”

“Have you contacted that Leonidas fellow?”

“No, I felt it would be better to wait until they left before looking into that issue.  I don’t have time to chase them all over the planet and deal with contacting him.”

“I agree.  How much longer will they be here?”

“Another three or four days; that’s when the insurance policy expires.  I think I should tell you that the blonde saw me yesterday and asked if you were going to come out and join them.”

“Really?”

“Yes, Sir.”

Serge rolled his eyes, “Call off our ships and agents from following them.”

“Why, Sir.”

“Because if they happen to see they’re being followed, the first thing they’ll do is come right back here to complain and I’ll have to waste another week with half of my security agents forced to follow them around.  Do you still have any doubts about their having anything to do with Ana’s disappearance?” Serge asked.

“No, I do believe they are what they appear to be; a rich woman doing everything possible to avoid distracting her from anything but having a party.  The real connection to Ana lies with this Leonidas.”

“Has any of our agents questioned the crew?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

“They love their lives and who wouldn’t?  They party just as hard as the two women.  A couple of them have been involved in fights but they handled themselves well.  The ones stupid enough to start a fight with them were dispatched quickly and by the end of the evening were drinking with the crew.  I have to admit that they’re very likable and appear to get along with just about everyone they encounter.”

“Maybe we should look into hiring some of the human mercenaries to work for us.”

“I think that is a great idea, Sir.”

“Look into it after you contact Leonidas.  You can take a break now if you want.”

“Thank you, Sir.  I need it.”

“I depend on you.  Thank you for all you do.  You handle issues that would really take a lot of my time and I genuinely appreciate the job you do for me.”

The Security Chief smiled, “Thank you, Sir.  That means a lot.”  The display went dark and the Chief sighed.  He had made up his mind to retire after the two bimbos left and then this.  Serge never complimented him.  He went home and later that evening saw his pay had been doubled.  He told his wife and she suggested that now was not the time to leave.  He was forced to agree with her.

Chapter Fifteen

Leonidas was thankful that Desiree and Victoria had gone back to the planet and forced Romanov to delay contacting him.  The Thermopylae was located at the intersection close to Romania and he needed to put some distance between his ship and the planet before he answered any calls from Romanov which would pinpoint his location if he answered it.  The extra six days allowed him to move halfway across the galaxy close to the Tortuga intersection before the call came in.

• • •

He was sitting on the bridge and Barney looked at him, “That was pretty good thinking the women did, Captain.  They removed any suspicions the Romanovs had about Ana being on their ship.”

“Desiree is the best I’ve ever seen at strategic thinking, Barney.  It also allowed us to put some distance between us and Romanov before he attempted to contact me.”

Carl looked up, “Captain, we have a call coming in from Romania. Looks like this is the call you’ve been expecting.”

“Put it on my console.”  Leonidas leaned back in his chair and forced his face to show anger.  A distinguished looking middle-aged man appeared on his display screen and Leonidas’ scowl was clear, “How did you get my contact frequency?!”

“A lady by the name of Victoria gave it to me.”

Leonidas’ scowl disappeared as he tried to stifle a grin but failed, “I understand she was rather upset that you were looking for her.  I told her to ignore it but she can be stubborn.”

“You are so right about that!  However, Mr. Romanov is attempting to find his daughter and knows that she was with you after the two of you landed on Kellinger some months back.  He was looking for her to find out how to contact you.”

“Ana is not with me.”

“Do you know where she might be?”

“No, she approached me after we landed on Kellinger and asked if she could pay me to go to Tortuga and kill the pirate that came onboard the Starliner and killed two members of her party.”

“Why did she approach you?”

“She saw me disable two of the crew who were attempting to put me in a cell.  She thought I might have the skills to possibly do it.”

“I hate to be so inquisitive but why did you disable two crewmen?”

“I had a conversation with the Pirate who boarded the Starliner and reminded him that killing the passengers and crew was bad for business.  I think the Captain of the ship felt I had some connection with the pirates and decided to arrest me.”

“Did you?”

“No, I had no connection with the pirates but I was planning to take the ship myself but Blakely beat me to it.”

“Really?”

“My ship was going to attack the liner a few more light years away but he arrived first with more ships than I could handle.”

“Was there a reason you were going to attack that particular Starliner?” the Chief asked as his eyes narrowed.

“Not really.  I was sitting in the Spaceport at its first stop on Frenau looking at a list of ships leaving and I saw that it was arriving from Romania; I thought it had to be carrying important people that could possibly be ransomed.  I boarded it at Frenau and planned to take control of the ship when my ship arrived.  However, it took a completely different course from the one it normally followed and my ship had to scramble to keep track of it and catch up.  By not following its normal route, Blakely arrived ahead of me.  He had to know in advance where that ship was headed to beat me to it.  I was forced to go to Kellinger after the attack and wait for the heat to blow over before my ship could pick me up there.  But I thought this call was about Ana?”

“It is.”

“Well, I told her that she was incredibly dumb to even consider hiring anyone to go to Tortuga to kill Blakely.  I explained to her in detail why it was insane but she didn’t want to hear it.”

“What did she do after you told her that?”

“She had a call come in while we were discussing it and she told me she had to go back to the Starliner to meet someone from her father’s business.  She said it had something to do with what was in the Starliner’s safe.  I left the spaceport to find lodging and that’s the last I saw of her. I would assume that whomever she went to meet would know where she is.”

“She did not meet anyone from her father’s business.”

Leo’s eyes narrowed, “I’m pretty good at seeing if someone is lying and I believe she thought she was telling the truth.  She genuinely thought she was meeting someone she knew in her father’s business.”

“And you ran into this Victoria immediately afterwards?”

Leo stared at the Security Chief and smiled, “That was probably the luckiest thing that’s ever happened to me.  I met her in the bar at the hotel I was staying and she invited me over to join in her party.  My old ship was really a rust bucket and she purchased me a new vessel.  I can just never get over how the really wealthy people in this universe don’t care how much things really cost.  They spend credits like there’s no limit and don’t appear to give it a second thought.”  Leo stared at the Chief, “But I’m pretty sure you’ve seen that as well working for the Romanovs.”  The Chief rolled his eyes and nodded as Leo continued.  “Anyway, I agreed to assist her in having an extravagant ship built for her and to help her find some good people to crew it.  She shocked me by saying she would also have a ship built for me if I did what I said.  I will tell you that the crew on her ship were in a bad way after the Unity disbanded the Legion and really needed the work when she hired them.  They will do all they can to make sure the Lady comes to no harm.”  Leo paused, “Why are you looking to find Ana?”

“She appropriated a rather large sum from her father before she disappeared.”

Leo’s head straightened up, “Why would she do that?  She told me she really loved her father.”

The Chief shrugged, “It really doesn’t make sense, does it?”

“I would guess that someone forced her to do it against her will and is holding her prisoner or killed her.  I do hope you find her; she was a nice lady.”

“What are you currently doing?”

“Just getting by doing my usual, why do you ask?”

“Mr. Romanov has mentioned hiring you to go to Tortuga and keeping an eye on this Blakely fellow in the event Ana does try to take him down.”

“She isn’t that stupid!”  Leo paused, gazed off to the side, and then sighed, “Well, maybe she is.”

“She’s really quite naïve in the ways of the world.  She might try to find someone to do it for her.”

“You’re still assuming she deliberately took those funds you mentioned.  You’re reaching on that idea.  If she was forced to do it, then no one will be going after Blakely.”

“When you only have limited leads, you follow all of them.  Are you open to a contract?”

“Just what would you have me do?”

“Go to Tortuga and keep an eye on Blakely.  If someone goes after him, try to capture them and bring them to us to be questioned.”

“I’d be wasting a lot my time if no one shows up and losing credits by the minute sitting on my backside on Tortuga.”

“Allow me to speak with Mr. Romanov and I’ll see if we can’t make an offer acceptable to both of us.”

“You have my frequency,” Leonidas said while smiling.

“However, if we find her, then the contract will end,” the Security Chief added.

Leo nodded “That goes without saying.  I honestly don’t think you can afford me.”

“Then why are you considering doing this?”

Leo smiled, “Because the wealthy just don’t have any sense about how to waste their money.  You may just surprise me and make an offer I can’t refuse.”

The Chief shrugged, “I’ll get back to you.”

The display went dark and Leo’s eyes narrowed.  Barney saw him and said, “What are you thinking?”

“I suspect the man is going to change the target on Tortuga.”

“What?”

“I suspect if they’re half as smart as I think they are that they’ll see that waiting around for someone to kill Blakely will be a waste of time and credits.  Especially if they give credence to my suggestion that Ana was forced to help someone against her will.”

Embree said from his console, “They’ll have to know that Blakely was hired by someone inside their organization to attack that Starliner and they’ll want to question him.  It’s pretty obvious someone inside their organization fed him the Starliner’s new route.”

Barney stared at Embree and smiled as he turned back to Leo, “So, they are going to pay you to do what you were going to do anyway; go after Blakely.”

Leo tipped an imaginary hat, “Something like that.”

“Sir, are we ready to go to Tortuga?”

“I think we are, Carl.  I think we’ve built a good cover that will stand up to inspection.”

“There’s a few pirates there that aren’t very happy with us, Captain.  We may not receive a warm reception.”

“But they can do nothing about it on Tortuga, Embree.  All disputes end at the Tortuga intersection.”  Leonidas pressed a button on his panel, “Gold, I need to see you on the bridge.”

“On my way, Captain.”  Gold might have some ideas about what was coming.  But first, the Romanovs needed to contact him again.

• • •

Two days later, Leonidas looked at his display and saw the Security Chief, “I didn’t expect you to contact me this quickly.”

The Chief smiled, “I’ve discussed the situation with Mr. Romanov and he agrees that we can use your assistance.”

Leo lowered his eyebrows, “That will depend on what you’re willing to pay.  This could take a while to happen.”

“Mr. Romanov feels that waiting to track Ana by waiting for an attack on Mr. Blakely is not a good use of his money.”

“Duh, I could have told you that.”

“He is more interested in discovering who inside his organization is working against him.  He wants you to go to Tortuga and attempt to capture this Pirate John Blakely and bring him to us for questioning.”

“Are you aware of all the structures on Tortuga designed to prevent anything like that from happening?” Leo asked.

“We are and know it will not be easily accomplished.  However, Mr. Romanov is willing to pay you five million credits to make the effort and will triple that if you’re able to do it.”

Leo managed to look surprised and said, “Now that is an offer that’s hard to turn down.”

“The question is whether or not you’ll make a genuine effort to do it.”

Leo smiled, “Instead of just taking the five million and calling it a day.”

The Chief smiled, “Exactly.”

Leo sat back in his chair, “I’ve done a little research on Blakely since our last conversation and I understand that he has forty warships in his personal fleet.  If I were to by some miracle manage to get him on board my ship, there would be quite a few warships pursuing me to take him back.  Further, I don’t think he’d be stupid enough to just walk on board my ship without being fully protected.”

“We will have more than two hundred armed ships ready to come to your defense.”

Leo laughed, “You’re forgetting all the other warships on Tortuga that are honor bound to participate in the chase.  If they choose to join in, your two hundred warships will be useless against the thousands that would be involved.  You also have to remember that there are always a couple of hundred of pirate ships hanging around at the Tortuga intersection to prevent anything like this from happening.  Five million won’t spend well when you’re dead.”

“We recognize that getting him off Tortuga isn’t going to be easy but you should be able to pull it off without alerting his fleet or the other pirates on the planet.”

“That’s easy to say, quite another to do it.  If it’s so easy, why don’t you just do it yourself?”

The Chief smiled, “That’s what the wealthy do with their fortunes; hire others to take the risks.”

“What about this?  What if I can get the information out of him about who inside the Romanov Organization is using him?  Would that be as good as capturing him for questioning?”

“If you can do that, why couldn’t you just bring him to us?”

“Have you been listening?  Getting him off the planet is the hard part.  Capturing him and questioning him while still on the planet would be a lot easier.  I’m reasonably certain Blakely has a deep space emitter inside him that would necessitate killing him to remove it.  Are you prepared to lose all of your warships to take him?”

“How will you know you have the information we need?”

Leo shrugged, “I guess you’re hoping that Blakely knows who he’s working for.  What if he doesn’t know?   I really suspect both you and I could hire someone to do some tasks for us and never allow them to know who’s pulling the strings; that could be the exact situation Blakely is in and all this would just be wasted effort.  The point is, killing him is easier than escaping with him.  I believe he knows that and will give up whatever you want to know if he possesses that information.”

The Chief hesitated and Leonidas knew he was about to say something he didn’t want to reveal, “We possess a means of getting him off the planet without being detected.”

“And just how can that be done?  Are you just going to make him instantly disappear?” Leo asked sarcastically with a small grin.

“We’ll bring you a module to install on your landing bay.  Put him in the module and he will be sent to us.”

“WHAT?”

“Just put him in the module and press the red button on the side of it.”

“What you’re saying is ridiculous!  You’re talking about teleportation.  That’s not possible!”

The Chief smiled, “Yes it is, more or less.”

“I said it’s not possible!”

“I assure you, Mr. Alexander, that if you will do as we ask, you will fulfill your contract.”

“How do I know that module you’re talking about isn’t booby trapped to blow up my ship when we use it?”

“Then install it on a shuttle and put him in there.”

Leo shook his head, “You realize that if he is sent to your home world, his deep space emitter will still be operational.  The pirates on Tortuga will know where he is anywhere in the known universe and be coming to take him back.”

“That is not your problem.  We’ll deal with that issue.”

Leo shook his head, “If you’re able to teleport objects, just hit him with a teleportation beam and cut out the middleman.”

“It doesn’t work that way.  Just like using a communicator, there needs to be a sending and receiving unit.”

Leo stared at the Chief while shaking his head, “You’re serious?”

“I am.”

“Why haven’t I heard about this technology?”

“I would guess it’s because you don’t know as much as you think you do, Mr. Alexander.”

Leo lowered his eyes, “The price has gone up to ten million credits to make the effort and ten million to pull it off.”

“Make it fifteen million for each,” the chief replied.

Leo allowed his eyes to go wide before saying, “And how will I be paid?”

“Do you have a recommendation?”

Leo stared at the display and after a long moment of silence, he said, “First, how are you going to install that module?”

“Give us the coordinates to meet your ship and we’ll install it there.”

Leo stared at him again and then said, “Once it’s installed, send fifteen million credits in untraceable notes through the device to my vessel.”

“Done.”

“Once we send Blakely to you, send the remainder owed to me through the device again.”

“It will be sent the moment we have him in our possession.”  The Chief smiled, “You’re doing this to prove our little device actually works.”

“Duh, you think?  I just don’t find this technology feasible.”

“Then we need to make sure you do before you put your lives on the line.” The Chief replied.

“I’m going to take your advice and install it on a shuttle.  I’ll have my navigator send you the coordinates where the shuttle will be waiting for your vessel to make the installation.”

“I’ll be waiting for the coordinates.  Would tomorrow at this time be acceptable?”

“Yes.  Please instruct my officer on how to operate the device.”

“All you’ll need to know is how to press one of two buttons.  The green button sends whatever is in the module to us and the red button allows us to send you your credits.”

“You know your engineers will be on the shuttle when we press that red button for our initial payment?”

The Chief tilted his head, “Why are you so insecure, Mr. Alexander?  You know thirty million credits is nothing to Mr. Romanov.  I’m sure he wouldn’t want bad will between you and him.  Besides, he might want to hire you again for future tasks that need to be done if you can make this happen.”

Leonidas nodded and said, “I’ll be sending the coordinates momentarily.”

“Thank you for your assistance, Mr. Alexander.”

The display went dark and Leo looked at Embree, “Contact Victoria, now!”

Leo waited and ten minutes later, both Victoria and Desiree appeared on his display.  “Victoria, your former father has set up a scheme where I capture Blakely on Tortuga and put him in a module that will teleport him to Romania.  Do you honestly think this teleportation technology actually exists and wasn’t a scheme to steal from stock holders?”

“My father told me he has proof it works.  I understand that there has to be a sending and receiving unit to actually teleport anything.”

“He’s planning to install a module on one of my shuttles.”

“That’s better than putting it on your ship, Leonidas.  He could just as easily teleport a bomb as anything else,” Victoria replied.

Leo shook his head, “Something about this bothers me but I can’t wrap my mind around exactly what it is.”

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“I just don’t like this technology being in the possession of a ruthless arrogant man like Serge Romanov.”

“Well, I don’t know what you can do about it?”

“What are you going to do?” Desiree asked.

“I’m going to attempt to take Blakely and send him to your father.  What do you think he’ll do with Blakely, Victoria?”

“There won’t be much of him left after the Security Agents finish questioning him.  They will burn out his synapses getting the truth out of him and it will be extremely painful as they do it.”

“Will this meet your need to have him punished for killing the two in your party on the Starliner?”

“Oh yes!”

“Then I guess that will also make up for Mark’s death as well.”  Leo looked at Embree, “Send the coordinates we’re sitting on now.  Carl take a shuttle out tomorrow an hour early to this location and we’ll come back to pick you up after the transfer is made.”

“Send Embree,” Carl asked.

“No, I want you to go, Carl.” Leo said sternly.

“Why me?”

“You’re the best I have on board at understanding how technology operates.  I want you present when that module is installed.”

Carl rolled his eyes and Embree laughed, “Take a bottle of water with you.”

Carl said under his breath, “Take a bottle of water with you.  You’re so fricking funny!”

“So you’re going to Tortuga, Leonidas?”

Leo looked at Desiree, “Yes, it appears I am.”

“We’re going to start keeping the ship on standby Battlestations starting today.”

“I hope I don’t have to call you in.”

“Before you decide to take Blakely, we’re moving in a lot closer.” Desiree said.

Leo’s mouth opened to respond but Victoria interrupted before he could speak, “This is not negotiable, Leonidas.  If you don’t need us, great.  However, if you do, we won’t have time to waste getting there.”

Leo stared at them and saw Barney, Carl, and Embree nodding out of the corner of his eye, “Alright.  Just don’t get inside Tortuga’s scanning range.”

“Be careful, Leonidas.”

“I will, Desiree.” 

Leo ended the contact and saw Embree nod, “The coordinates have been sent.”

“Carl, take the large shuttle tomorrow and stay in touch; we won’t be far.”

“Yes, Captain.” 

Carl sighed as Embree said, “Sir, I really think both of us should go?”

It was hard to tell who was surprised the most, Carl or Leo, “Why is that?”

“Because I can fly the shuttle while Carl watches what they’re doing.  Two sets of eyes are better than one, Sir.  Someone needs to remain at the shuttle’s controls to execute an escape if it’s called for.”

Leo tilted his head and smiled, “Take a bottle of water.” 

Carl and Barney both laughed out loud and Embree lifted a bottle out of his pouch, “Never leave home without one, Captain.”

Leo smiled and lifted the microphone, “Attention all crewmembers.  You will start going over the list of ships we’ve supposedly destroyed, immediately.  We’re going to Tortuga shortly and all of you are going to have to be on the same sheet of music when we go there.  I want you to question each other until we arrive to make sure everyone knows the details.  That is all.”

• • •

The Spider sat at the console and checked out the panel.  The frequency that was used to keep track of what was happening was not active.  Someone had changed it.  Ummm, something important was happening and it was being missed.  Well, whatever frequency they were now using could be found by the end of the day.  The Spider smiled, “They just didn’t know who they were dealing with.”  But…why did they change the frequency?  Were they on to who was inside their organization?  No, if they were, the Security Agents would have already arrived to make an arrest.  This uncertainty was not something that was comfortable.  The new frequency had to be acquired quickly.

Chapter Sixteen

Two days later, the Thermopylae arrived and took the large shuttle into the landing bay.  Leonidas was waiting and Carl exited first as Embree shutdown the shuttle’s systems.  “Captain, this box they installed in the shuttle is armored with battleship grade armor.  I was told by the engineers that any attempt to examine what’s inside the armor would result in an immediate explosion.”

“Did you learn anything about it?”

“Not really.  They moved it in and bolted it to the deck.  It carries its own power supply so there wasn’t much to see.  There was one item I missed that Embree discovered while the Romanov Engineers installed it.  The box they installed emits one of two frequencies constantly.  One frequency is emitted when it’s in send mode and a different frequency is used when it’s in receive mode.”

“How did he see it and you didn’t?”

“I suspect he discovered it because he’s our communications expert and has forgotten more about electronic frequencies than I’ve ever known.  The two frequencies are far off the range of any communications channel I’ve ever seen.  I suspect they’d be pretty much invisible to anyone using normal scanning equipment.  My scanners did not detect them.”

Embree emerged from the shuttle and Leonidas looked at him, “Em, how did you detect those frequencies?”

“I leaned against the box while the Romanov Engineers installed it.  I felt a small vibration on the surface of the box.”

Leo looked at Carl and he shook his head, “I placed my hand on the box and I didn’t feel anything.”

Leo looked back at Embree and saw him shrug, “Captain, I could feel it!”

“Ok, let’s assume that it is vibrating; why did you assume it’s a communication frequency and not a mechanical device that has a low frequency hum?” Leo asked.

“Captain, everything that vibrates produces a frequency.  Even mechanical devices that have a humming sound caused by a motor emit a frequency vibration that can be detected.  When my scanner didn’t detect a frequency coming from the box, I pulled out a device I developed when we were fighting for the Legion to track frequencies and even it turned up nothing.”  Leo nodded for him to continue.  “Well, then it became the principle of the darn thing and, as you know, I do love a challenge.  I made some adjustments to my device and kept adjusting it until it began reading the two frequencies.  I detected both frequencies while the Romanov Engineers were testing the module and switching between them.  They are way off the normal spectrum of communication frequencies but it’s clear they are making contact with something outside the shuttle.”

“Why would someone use those frequencies, Embree?”

“Captain, they would have to be something entirely new that the device requires to operate or they are used to prevent anyone from detecting the presence of that box.”

“Captain, the credits are inside the box,” Carl interrupted.

Embree smiled, “They’re in large denomination credits but they still filled up the box.”

“Carl, I want you to get the crew to start packaging the credits into bundles that will fit in a back pack.”

“Sir, they will fill every backpack we have on board and then some.”

Leo thought about it and said, “Then put them in large boxes that can be carried off the shuttle.”

“What do you intend to do with them, Captain?” Carl asked.

“When we arrive at Tortuga, I’m going to deliver them to one of the major banks and ask for them to be deposited.”

“Do you think they’ll be safe in a Tortuga Bank?” Embree asked.

“Embree, they’ll be safer there than on our ship.  I don’t want pirates thinking they can follow us if we leave the planet and take what we have on board.  If we move it to a bank, they’ll realize its wasted effort to go after my ship.”

“Until you decide to withdraw it,” Carl added.

“We probably won’t do that.  We’ll use those funds on Tortuga as much as we can.” 

Carl nodded and went to the crewmen gathered in the landing bay and shouted, “Go and take some large boxes out of storage and let’s start packing.”  Everyone stared at him and Carl snapped, “ARE YOUR FEET FROZEN TO THE DECK!?!  GET MOVING NOW!”  The crew immediately started moving toward the storage lockers.

Leo looked at Embree, “I need you to do some research and determine which bank on Tortuga has the largest deposits.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Leo lifted his communicator, “Barney, start moving us toward the Tortuga filament intersection and set a course to the planet.”  Leo was thankful he had moved the ship close to the Tortuga filament where the installation of the box was done.  He had deliberately moved it closer anticipating another call from the Romanovs.  It should take just a few hours to arrive at the intersection and several more to arrive at the planet.

Leo yelled at Embree as he left the landing bay, “Once you make that determination, I want you to be prepared to connect me with the bank when I arrive on the bridge.”  Embree nodded as he disappeared from the landing bay.  He looked at Carl, “Was taking Embree with you a good idea?”

Carl turned around and nodded, “Sir, he’s pretty incredible in his understanding of electronics and communication frequencies.  I never would have found those two frequencies.  I honestly don’t know if they represent anything important but it’s good to know they’re there.  I’m pretty certain we can be tracked as long as that box and the shuttle is on the Thermopylae.”

“Thanks, Carl.  Let me know when everything is packed up.  We’re going to drop the shuttle off the Tortuga filament before we arrive on the planet.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Leo left for the bridge and Embree looked up from his console as he sat in his command chair, “Sir, the First Bank of Tortuga is the largest bank and holds the most assets.”

“Contact them and request that the main officer speak with me.”

“That individual might be difficult to reach, Sir.”

“Tell him there are fifteen million reasons why he should interrupt his busy schedule.”

Embree smiled and began pushing buttons on his panel.  Fifteen minutes later, a Tortugan appeared on Leo’s console’s display.  Leo tried hard not to smile but the being looked very much like a turtle without a shell.  It also spoke in a very deliberate voice, like a professor thinking every sentence through before saying it, “Uhhh…Captain…I understand from…your subordinate…that you wish to make a…sizable deposit into my…care.”

“I do.”

“And…he says it…is about…fifteen million…Unity Credits?”

“It is.”

“And…you contacted me…because?”

“I have never come to Tortuga in the past and I understand that my ship might be stopped by your Traffic Controller to be inspected.  I do not wish to put my funds into jeopardy by having that happen.”

“Uhhhh…what makes you…believe that…your ship would be…in danger?”

“Because until a new vessel has made a deposit and established residency on Tortuga, it is open for anyone on the planet to attack until residency is established.  I’ve been told that you can remove those obstacles before I arrive at your planet.”

“It is possible that…they could be removed…but it comes with a fee for me to assist…in making it happen.” The bank official said as it leaned back in its chair.

“How much?”

“A hundred…thousand…non-refundable…Unity Credits paid in advance.  Another fifty thousand…Unity Credits are required once the…obstacles…are removed and…residency established.”

“Do you accept direct transfers?”

“I…do.”

“I’m going to give you an account number and request you transfer a hundred fifty thousand credits to your establishment immediately.”

Leo would have never believed that a Tortugan’s face was capable of smiling with their hard shelled beaks but discovered he was wrong.  It smiled by moving its tongue from one side of its face to the other.  “That would be quite satisfactory, Captain!  It’s rare to have someone arrive with your expertise at getting things done.”

Leo knew it had to be rare to have a pirate show up with enough wealth to do it.  He did notice that there was no hesitation in the Tortugan’s speech with that statement.  Leo entered the account number into his communicator and sent it.  The Tortugan looked away from the display and then turned back to him, “What is…the name of your…vessel…how many crew serve on it…and who commands…it?”

“It is named the Thermopylae, there are twenty crewmen on board, and Leonidas Alexander is in command.”

“I will notify records…that your ship is now registered…as a resident and…you will be afforded…every benefit and right…our planet offers.”

“I would like to send a shuttle down to deliver my deposit.  When may I come to make the delivery?”

The Bank Officer smiled again, “You are cleared by Tortugan Traffic Control to deliver your deposit immediately upon arrival.  I will provide the security at my bank to insure your delivery is not in jeopardy when you arrive.”

Leo now understood, without doubt, that a smile straightened the Tortugan’s speech right up.  “We’ll arrive in about six hours and I’ll immediately move my vessel into orbit and send the shuttle carrying my deposit down to your establishment as soon as we’re parked.”

“I’ve notified Traffic…and the coordinates for you to park your vessel…will appear on your panel…now!” the bank official said.  “Do you require living…accommodations…for yourself and your crew?” the Tortugan asked with its head leaning toward the display in anticipation.

“Do you offer quarters for new arrivals?”

“We do…have a selection of various…quarters based on…how much you wish…to pay.”

“What would you recommend?”

“We have a building…suitable for yourself and…your crew on the…outskirts of the city…for a reasonable rent.”

“How much?”

“Eight thousand credits…a month.”

“Do you have anything closer to the center of the city?” Leonidas asked.

The Official’s tongue went across his face again, “We have a luxury building on the river in the center of the city that requires twenty thousand a month.”

“I’m transferring another quarter of a million Unity Credits to you immediately.  That should pay for the first year, wouldn’t it?”

Leonidas wondered if the Tortugan’s tongue was ever going to stop moving across his face.  After a minute the Official said, “It is now your quarters and will be awaiting the arrival of your ship to assume occupancy.”

“Thank you for your excellent service and I will shuttle my crew to their new home once we complete the delivery of my deposit.”

“That would be excellent.  I am also going to send you a copy of the laws and regulations that govern your behavior while on Tortuga.  You should go over them before you arrive to avoid making a mistake and possibly having your residency rescinded.”

Leo saw the Tortugan’s tongue continue moving across its face and knew he had been taken but didn’t care.  This should make a grand entrance into the pirate community and get them noticed.  He was going to need that to get close to Blakely.  “Thank you and I will go over the regulations on the way to Tortuga.”

The display went dark and Leo looked at Barney, “Move the ship in to those parking coordinates above the planet as soon as we arrive at Tortuga.  Call me when you leave the intersection.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Leo looked at Embree, “When the regulations arrive, I want you to go through them thoroughly and provide me a summary of what I need to know.”

“Yes, Captain.”  Leo smiled, Embree was the fastest reader he had ever known.  He would probably have the document read before it completed downloading.  He went to his quarters and began changing his clothes.  He had spent a lot of time thinking about what he would wear on Tortuga.  Every Captain dressed to be noticed and the more flamboyant the look the better.  He looked at the tri-corner hat with a large feather coming out of the hat band and then picked up what would set him apart from all the others.  It had cost him a lot, but the ancient Spartan Breast Plate was worth every credit.  He had polished it until it shined and it fit him perfectly.  It was heavy but his enhanced muscles didn’t even notice it.  He thought about a Spartan Helmet but decided that was taking it a bit too far.  He put on black shirt under the armor and then put the tri-cornered hat on.  He looked at himself in the mirror and knew Victoria and Desiree would laugh at his appearance…but he liked it. 

He undressed and smiled as he went to his bed and closed his eyes.  He thought about capturing John Blakely.  He smiled, this would be good for business.  He wished Desiree was here to help in the planning.  He continued smiling as he thought about her being here beside him.  Then, he thought about Ana.  Either of them was a good image to think about.  He closed his eyes and slept.

• • •

Leonidas’ communicator started vibrating and he pressed the connect button, “Yes!”

Barney appeared, “Captain, we’ve left the intersection and are now inside Tortugan Traffic Control.  Eight ships began moving toward us but have been ordered away by Control.  Embree says that there has been a high level of communication traffic once our ship’s name became known.”

“That’s understandable; we did have a run in with some of the locals.”

“Embree tells me that we cannot have any of the ship’s weapons energized inside a million mile diameter from the planet.  The fee for violating that ordinance is ten thousand credits the first time, a hundred thousand the second, and expulsion from the planet for a third offense.”

“Shut the blasters down, Barney.  However, make sure the missile batteries are active.  The launching ports cannot be seen from outside the ship and they do not radiate energy that could be detected.”

“Yes, Captain.  I’ve already issued the orders.  We should arrive in less than another hour and a half.”

“Have the boxes of credits been packed in the shuttle?”

“Yes, and there are ten members of the crew that have been assigned to go with you to make the delivery.”

“Who are they?”

“The blaster crews, Captain.  I’m keeping the missile teams at their stations.”

“That’s a good plan, Barney.  I’ll be up in a few minutes.”  Leonidas stood up and went to the bathing compartment.  He had grown his hair long over the previous six months and he wanted to make sure his moustache and hair were clean.  You never get another chance to make a first impression; he wanted to make sure it would be a good one.  He pressed the ship’s intercom button on the wall and said, “All crew members will change into the clothes they’ve chosen to wear on Tortuga.  You should also pack a bag to take with you to our new living accommodations after we make the deposit.  We’re here and now the hard work begins.  Remember to avoid saying anything that might cause a hole in our cover story.”  Leo pressed the button turning off the intercom and went to cleanup.

• • •

Victoria and Desiree sat at a table in a tavern on Lucia and sipped their drinks.  Jimmy and Steve sat with them and Jim said, “This place is pretty quiet.”

Victoria took another sip and sighed, “I know.  I’m just not in the mood to go dancing tonight.”

Desiree nodded, “You’re worried about Leonidas.”

“Does it show?”

“We all are.  We’re just going to have to learn patience and be ready to respond if he needs us.”

“That’s just it, Desiree.  Even being this close, it will take us three hours to get there if something happens.  I just don’t like it.”

Desiree sighed, “Well, there’s nothing we can do about that.  If we go into the Tortugan system, we’ll be challenged and probably attacked.  Revealing our armaments will only insure we won’t be allowed near the planet.”  Desiree looked across the room and said, “It looks like Nosey has made another appearance.”

Victoria looked up and saw a large man step inside the entrance, look around, and then go back outside, “He’s been following us for about six hours.”

“He’s not Romanov.”

“How can you tell?” Victoria asked.

“He’d be harder to spot.  Nosey’s training leaves a lot to be desired.”

“Should we leave?”

Desiree shook her head, “No, I’m wondering who he’s working for.  He knows who you are.”

“I’ve seen that.”

Desiree looked at Steve, “Go and round up the ground crew and have them wait outside.  Tell them to avoid being seen.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Jimmy, move over to the bar and take a chair.”

“Captain, if there’s going to be trouble, I should remain here with you.”

Desiree smiled, “Jimmy, you’d only get in the way if we run into trouble.”

Victoria took another sip before saying, “You think something’s going to happen?”

“Nosey stuck his head in here to confirm our presence.  I suspect he left to tell someone else.”  Victoria looked around the tavern and saw there were numerous patrons scattered around the room.  Desiree smiled, “I suspect having others present won’t prevent anything.”  Jimmy stood up and went to the bar.

“I guess you’ve seen something like this before?”

“I have.  And Nosey waited until we were away from the street without many beings near us before leaving to make his report.”

Three large men walked into the tavern and sat down at a table near the door.  A few seconds later, six more heavily muscled men walked in and occupied two more tables.  Desiree looked at Victoria as she poured another glass from the clear liquid in the bottle sitting on the table, “I know, the party is about to start,” Victoria said quietly.

“Not yet.”

“Oh?”

“This is the advanced scouts.  Notice that they’re whispering to the patrons sitting around them and they’re getting up to leave.  At least they have the courtesy to warn innocent bystanders that something is going down.”

Over the next twenty minutes, twenty more men entered the tavern and Victoria looked at Desiree, “I think that’s the last of them.”

Desiree smiled and nodded, “You’re pretty good.  What told you?”

“They’ve stopped looking at each other and all of them are glancing at the entrance surreptitiously.  I suspect the next one through the door will clarify what’s going on.”  Desiree nodded as she sat back in her chair.  “Have you noticed that all of them look like they’ve been working out?” Victoria pointed out.

Desiree nodded and quietly whispered, “The last four that arrived are carrying hand blasters under their coats.”  Victoria nodded and took another sip of the water she had started pouring in her glass thirty minutes earlier.  A man walked through the entrance and both women were impressed by his size.  He stood about six and a half feet tall and wore his shirt opened to the middle of his chest showing off his powerful physique.  His arms were huge and he walked with a swagger.  Desiree whispered, “Remember; pretty, dumb blonde is what’s called for here.”

Victoria nodded and smiled as the tall man walked up to their table, “Why hello, honey!  Aren’t you a pretty sight for my eyes to feast on?”

The man snickered as he lifted his communicator and began reading, “I have been hired by the De La Pascal Family to apprehend Victoria Lenora De La Pascal and take her to the Superior Court on Bella Grande to attend a hearing on the estate of Roberto De La Pascal scheduled two days from now.”

“Uhhh…excuse me Mr.…Uhhh…”

The man looked at Victoria and smiled, “Mr. Deloam.”

“Well, Mr. Deloam, Bella Grande has no jurisdiction here.  So why don’t you take your pretty muscles and go back where you came from, Dahlin.”

“I am not from Bella Grande.  I am part of an organization that accepts contracts to take individuals to the one paying for the contract.”

Desiree sighed and said, “He’s a bounty hunter, My Lady.”

Victoria looked at Desiree, looked at the man, and then turned back to Desiree, “I didn’t know they made bounty hunters so good looking.  I thought they were more like troglodytes.  You know, all muscles and no brains.”

Desiree shrugged, “Your point?”

Victoria looked at Deloam and said, “I guess you’re right.  He is all muscles.  Let’s see if he’s dumb.”  Deloam’s face was turning red and his anger was clear in his expression as Victoria said, “You have no legal jurisdiction here, honey, and I choose not to go with you.”

Deloam sneered, “Do you think you have an option?!  You will come peacefully or we will take you back by force.  Either way, you are going back to Bella Grande with me.”

Victoria slowly started shaking her head and said over her shoulder to Desiree, “You’re right; no brains at all.”

“If the two of you think we have a problem roughing up a woman, you need to think again.”  He looked over his shoulder, nodded, and the twenty nine other men stood up from their tables, moved the tables and chairs away from Victoria’s table and spread out around it.

Victoria put her hand on her chest, “Why clutch the pearls; do you think you’ve brought enough men to handle two defenseless women?”

“Shut up and get moving!! You have a ship to catch.”

Victoria sighed, “Dahlin, there are always consequences to behaviors and after we demonstrate some of them to you, I’m going to educate you in the stupidity of just stepping into a mine field without scouting it out first.”

Deloam sneered, “Your crew will not stop us.  We’ve been highly trained to handle anyone you might use to defend you.  We’ve determined that my unit outnumbers your crew.”

Desiree stood up and Victoria stood as well.  She looked at Desiree, “These highly trained, well-muscled men, just makes my heart go all a-flutter.”

Desiree smiled, “You know how I hate to see your heart go all a-flutter.”  Deloam stared at them trying to figure out what was going on but couldn’t make sense of it. A moment later, after Victoria hit him in the middle of his forehead with a snap-punch, he wasn’t able to figure out anything.  Victoria and Desiree moved into the men gathered around them and bodies began hitting the floor.

The owner of the tavern stood behind the bar and knew his establishment was going to be wrecked.  Jimmy reached over and pulled his sleeve, “Hey, how about a brew?”  The bartender looked at him with eyes wide open and Jimmy said, “Give me the coldest glass you have.”

Desiree ducked under the arms of a bounty hunter attempting to wrap up her arms and hit him in the sternum with an elbow.  He collapsed to the floor as she spun and kicked another man in the solar plexus dropping him on top of the first man.  “ONLY NUMBER ONE AND PRESSURE POINTS, VICKY!” Desire shouted as she pushed a pressure point on anther bounty hunter under his chin and followed with a leg sweep of another.  He hit the floor and she pressed on his sternum.

Victoria dropped three bounty hunters and saw the four men outside the group start reaching for their blasters.  She leapt over the crowd and landed directly in front of them.  She hit two of them directly in their foreheads and saw that one of them had already pulled a blaster and was pointing it at Desiree.  She had the sword out in an instant and the man’s body hit the floor before his head.  She spun and hit the fourth man holding a blaster on the side of his head with the sword’s handle, dropping him like a bag of cement.  She returned the sword to its scabbard in an instant and reverse kicked a bounty hunter rushing up behind her.

The tavern owner watched the two women move through the thirty men and could only shake his head in astonishment.  Jimmy took a drink of his brew and said, “This sort of brings tears to your eyes, doesn’t it?”  The owner was speechless and Jimmy walked over to the entrance.  He opened the door and ten crewmen from the Play Toy rushed into the tavern.  “Just wait here and don’t allow any of them to run.”  The crew spread out at the door and watched their two commanders beating the large men senseless.

The last four bounty hunters standing rushed toward the door but stopped in their tracks when the crewmen moved in on them.  Desiree shouted, “Take them to a table and order them a drink!”  The four remaining bounty hunters were escorted to a table and shoved in a chair.  They looked around the room and saw all of their comrades laying on the floor unconscious or moaning loudly.  Desiree and Victoria went back to their table and sat down.  Desiree pointed at Deloam and shouted, “Steve, bring him over here and deposit him in a chair.  You might have to hold him up until he regains his senses.”  Two crewmen lifted him and one said, “This one weights more than a block of lead!”  Another crewman came over and assisted the other two in putting him in a chair at Victoria’s table.  Steve stood behind Deloam and prevented his falling out of the chair to the floor.

Victoria looked around the room and ordered, “Take those that are capable of sitting to a table and order them a drink.”

Desiree poured two glasses and handed one to Victoria, “Did you have to kill that one?”

“He had a blaster pointed at you and wasn’t calling for you to surrender!”

Desiree looked at Jimmy, “Did you record this?”

“I did.”

“Did you get that man pointing a blaster at us?”

“I did.”

“Excellent!”

It took about thirty minutes before all of the bounty hunters were able to sit in a chair and Deloam was told to sit still until all of his men were conscious.  He said nothing and was still wobbling from the punch he took.  Finally, everyone was sitting at a table with a drink in front of them and Victoria looked at Jimmy, “Bring your recording over here.”  Jimmy walked over and Victoria said, “Show Mr.…Uhhh…”

“Deloam,” the man said groggily.

“Show Mr. Deloam why one of his men was killed.”  Jimmy held his communicator in front of Deloam’s eyes and he saw the man raise a blaster and point it at Desiree.  “He would still be alive but for your stupidity in bringing armed agents in here.  His death is on your hands,” Victoria sneered at him.

Desiree looked at Billy standing at the door, “Billy, find me the name of a bounty hunter business that is regarded as the most dangerous.”

Billy began pressing buttons on his communicator and said, “The Devon Devils are reputed to be the most blood thirsty.  They are carnivores that usually eat the ones they are contracted to capture.”

Desiree walked over in front of Deloam and knelt down in front of him, “Now pay close attention!  Tell the owner of your firm that if he bothers us again, we will be taking a contract out with the, what’s their name, Billy?”

“Devon Devils.”

“With the Devon Devils to bring him directly to us to discuss his apparent stupidity at interrupting our party,” Desiree said one inch from Deloam’s face.  “Do you understand?”  Deloam looked around the room and nodded.

Victoria lowered her eyes, “You should be ashamed of yourselves for attacking two defenseless women!  None of you are gentlemen!”

Deloam could only shake his head at her and the tavern owner started laughing.  Soon the crew of the Play Toy joined him.  Desiree looked at Deloam, “We’ve ordered all of you a drink and if you’re hungry, we’ll also pay for a dinner.”

Deloam wobbled slightly as he tried to stand up and Desiree gripped his shoulder and prevented him from falling out of the chair.  Deloam’s head went back slightly as he said, “I’m not going anywhere for a while.”

Desiree looked at the owner, “Take their orders and serve my crew while you’re at it.  We’ll pay for any damages.”

“The only thing you damaged was them,” the owner shouted from the bar.

Desiree looked around and saw the tables and chairs had been pushed away from the heavy fighting.  “I guess you’re right.  Boys, straighten the room up and get that body out of sight.”

Deloam looked at Desiree and knew he and his men were fortunate to be alive.  He would have a discussion with his boss about sending him into this mess.  After an hour, Deloam looked at Victoria and Desiree, “We aren’t as bad as you made us appear.”

“I believe that.  However, you didn’t know what you were stepping into.  Everyone on my ship has served in the military and are highly trained as well.”

“I’ve fought many others that served in the military and none of them were close to being able to do what you did tonight.  Do you mind telling me how you managed to beat all of us?”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Deloam.  But that is something we’ll keep to ourselves.”

When Deloam was finally able to stand, his walk had lost its swagger.  He left with his men and Victoria shook her head, “I hate we had to crush his ego.”

“Don’t let it bother you, it’ll probably save his life in the future.”  Victoria looked at Desiree with a raised eyebrow.  “He’ll check things out before he rushes into an unknown situation again.  The best lessons come hard and are not forgotten.”

“I guess you’re right,” Victoria said with a sigh.  “But you have to admit, he was nice to look at.”

Desiree smiled and said, “Many troglodytes are.”

Victoria laughed and lifted her glass.  Desiree toasted it, “Here’s to Gem’s training.”

“Amen to that!”

• • •

They arrived back on the Play Toy and Desiree saw Victoria head toward the stern of the ship, “Going to Gem’s lab?”

“Yes.”

“You’ve been spending a lot of time in there lately.”

“Desiree, he knows so much that I don’t.  I find him fascinating and I’ve learned so much just listening to him.  I want to tell him what we did tonight.  I’m sure he’ll be pleased.”

Desiree nodded, “And a big thanks from me for all the things he’s done to prepare us for what happened tonight.”

Victoria smiled, “I’ll tell him.”  She disappeared down the corridor and Desiree’s eyes narrowed.  What was going on here?  She shook her head and headed toward the bridge to move the ship to another planet close to the Tortuga intersection.

Chapter Seventeen

The Thermopylae arrived in orbit above Tortuga and Leonidas and the ten crewmen flew the shuttle down to the front of the First Bank of Tortuga.  The bank official was there along with a hundred armed security guards.  A crowd had gathered outside the cordoned off area wondering what was going on.  When the crew began moving boxes out of the shuttle into the bank, they knew something big was taking place.  It didn’t take long for the crowd to grow in numbers.  Leonidas looked at the crowd and turned to the official, “Do you think you have enough guards?”

The Official kept licking his face as boxes were moved out of the shuttle, “No one will interfere with what’s happening.  The guards are only here to keep them away.  If anyone of them tries anything, it will be their death warrant.”

“You seem pretty certain about that?”

“You have been listed in the Registry as a Triple A resident of my bank.  You will, of course, have the protection of being on that list.  You will not be attacked by anyone without the approval of the Pirate’s Governing Council.”

“What will happen if we are?”

“All of their assets will be confiscated from all of our financial institutions and they will be banished from Tortuga.  You have a free insurance policy for choosing to do business with me.”

Leonidas smiled, “I thank you for your help.  I do intend to transfer another ten million here a month from now.”

Leo thought the Tortugan was going to knock himself out with his tongue, “That is highly satisfactory, Captain.”

Leonidas smiled as the crowd around the bank continued to grow.  The last box was finally taken out of the shuttle and Leonidas went inside to wait for the Tortugans to count it.  In less than fifteen minutes he was handed a card giving him access to the account, “Captain, your accuracy is commendable.  It was exactly fifteen million credits.”

“I do like accuracy.  Thank you again.”

“Please, contact me if you need any assistance.”

“I will.”  Leo left the bank and saw all the Tortugans were licking their faces.  What an odd species.  He went to the shuttle and heard a member of the crowd yell, “WHAT SHIP?”

Leo stopped and shouted, “THE THERMOPYLAE!” 

He boarded the shuttle and an alien among the crowd heard several around him ask, “Isn’t that the ship that killed your former Captain?”

The alien looked around, “Indeed it is.”

“What are you going to do about it?”

“I don’t really know…yet!”

• • •

Leo pulled the sword out of its scabbard and immediately returned it.  He had a clear coating of plastic over the blade to prevent cutting off his shoulder if he messed up and he was thankful Gem had provided it when he took possession of the sword.  He would have probably killed himself without it when he first started practicing with it.  Now it was becoming second nature and he no longer missed putting it back in the scabbard.  Gem had sent him the recording of the man on Jester pulling his sword and putting it back in the scabbard and he knew he was nowhere close to his ability…but he wasn’t bad.  He used every free minute to practice with it.  His hand-to-hand combat skills Gem had trained him in made him extremely dangerous but this sword took him to an entirely different level.  He was more dangerous with a sword in one hand than with a blaster in both hands.  He had one of the large rooms in their quarters on Tortuga set up for training and he was working hard to keep his skills honed to a fine edge.

Embree entered the training room and pulled up a chair, “Sir, there are some things in the rules and regulations governing our residency here that I feel I should cover you with.”

Leo continued drawing and scabbarding the sword, “Go ahead.”

“The law that carries the highest penalty is one that prohibits any pirate from leaving the city limits of Fellowship.”

Leo stopped pulling the sword, “Fellowship?”

Embree blew out a breath, “I know it sounds ridiculous but that is the name of this city we’re currently living in.”

“No kidding?”

“I don’t have the story behind why it was named Fellowship but I’m sure we’ll find out once we get out.”  Embree looked at his note pad, “If any pirate leaves the designated city limits of Fellowship, they will pay one million credits in penalty fees and a second violation will result in expulsion from the planet.”

Leo stopped practicing with the sword and pulled up a chair, “Have you been able to find out why that law exists?”

“I have.  The Bank Official contacted the ship asking for the person responsible for going over the laws with the crew and he was sent to my console.  By the way, he seems to really like you a lot.  You have the mind of an accountant.”  Leo chuckled and Embree smiled, “I think that is the greatest compliment a banker can give to anyone.  Anyway, when the planet originally agreed to set up a sanctuary for pirates to come and decompress, they made it clear that they would be restricted to the land set up for them to live on.  They built a modern city with all the modern conveniences surrounded by beautiful parks, mountains, a seashore, and three rivers that the pirates could visit to their hearts content.  However, they made it absolutely clear that the local population would not be exposed to or have any contact with the city’s inhabitants.  They would live their lives like they always have and not be bothered by those in the safe haven.  The pirate ships that come here are all vectored in above the city and there is a modern spaceport just inside the city limits next to the ocean if they need to come to the planet’s surface for servicing or repairs.  That spaceport rivals the best in the Unity and their construction and repair facilities are second to none.  The planet’s spaceport is located on the opposite side of the planet from Fellowship and Traffic Control exerts firm control over the exit routes from both spaceports so that planetary vessels will not come into contact with pirate ships.”

“What if a pirate ship attacks a Tortugan Commercial Vessel?”

“Part of the founding agreement was that all the other pirate ships that use this planet will find the guilty parties and destroy them,” Embree said with a shrug.

“I imagine that pretty much insures Tortugan Ships are avoided like radioactive pancakes.”

“That agreement covers more than just the pirates here, Captain.  If a Tortugan Vessel is attacked by any pirate, even those that have nothing to do with the planet, the pirates here will be held responsible for finding the guilty ship and destroying it.”

Leo sat back in his chair and tilted his head, “I’ve often wondered why Tortuga set up this safe haven for pirates but I can see the real benefits to the Tortugans in doing it.”  Embree nodded.  “Em, they don’t have to build a fleet of warships to defend them.  They don’t have to service and supply a navy and they make a huge profit servicing and selling supplies to the pirates.  All it cost them was some land and the expense of building a city.  The cost of building and maintaining a fleet of warships would far exceed what they paid to set this up.  I imagine they’ve recouped their costs several times over since this agreement was made.”

“Pretty much anything you want is available in Fellowship for the right price.  I will say the Tortugans are a profit driven society.”

“Is there anything else I should be aware of?”

“The city is governed by a council that is elected by the inhabitants.  Each ship gets one vote so those pirates with fleets have a huge advantage in getting one of their crews on the council.  Every new resident is required by law to go before the Council at the Council’s next scheduled meeting after they arrive and present themselves to be told the rules governing behavior inside the city.  The next meeting is scheduled tomorrow at sundown.  You and our crew, all of your crew, are required to be there.”

“I’m not comfortable with not having anyone on board the ship.”

“The penalty for violating a ship’s integrity is death.  Traffic Control keeps every ship in orbit under close scrutiny and will not allow anyone but the crew to go near them.”

“I guess that covers my concern.  The Tortugan Scanners are also some of the best in the galaxy.”

“They are, Captain.”

“What are the rules governing disagreements between ships?”

“A ship’s captain is allowed to petition the Council for recovery of damages, whether it be physical or psychological.  In a society filled with blood thirsty pirates, an insult can cause fighting to break out as quickly as causing physical damages.  The Charter prohibits any attacks by anyone here.  The law says take any issues to the Council and failure to do so could lead to the guilty parties being executed for endangering the peace of the city.”

“What about handling them away from the planet?”

“The rules still apply.  Tortugan Pirates give up their rights to attack any other resident of Fellowship when they opt to live here.”

“That should solve the issue with those pirates we had a run in with a few months back,” Leo said absently while he focused on what Embree was telling him.

“I’m not sure how the Council would view that issue.  We weren’t residents at the time so we were open to be attacked.  The rules that govern the behavior of ship commanders is supposed to be presented to you at our first council meeting.  Everyone here has certain rights and benefits but the Captains of the Pirate Ships are treated almost like Gods.”

“What do you think about that, Embree?”

“It makes for a high level of jealousy between the Captains and their crews.  Uneasy sits the head on the throne, Captain.  Every crewman longs to have the status and benefits bestowed on their Captains.  Without the discipline of a military ranking system, the ships serving under a captain demand results and profits or could easily mutiny against him.”

“Are there any rules governing that?”

“Strangely enough, there aren’t.  The hierarchy inside a ship is left alone by the Council.  Crews can fight to the death on board their own vessels but will be executed if they take it outside the walls of their ships to the planet’s surface.”

“Anything else I need to know?”

“John Blakely is the current leader of the Council.”  Leo stared at Embree and he shrugged, “Blakely has the largest number of pirate ships under his command.  It appears, according to some of the crew that have spoken with some of the locals that respect on Tortuga is gained from profit.  Everyone pretty much agrees that Blakely is the richest pirate on the planet and that gives him an incredible amount of admiration.  He has at least forty warships under his command and he treats his crews well.  That’s not to say he runs a loose ship, he doesn’t, and his crews do fear angering him.  But for the most part, they are paid a fair percentage of what they take and his crews stand by him.”

“Embree, you sound like you admire him?”

“I’ve studied everything in the Unity Database on him and he’s not what I thought.”

Leo nodded, “Go on.”

“He does not believe in unnecessary killing.  His ships are crewed by numerous alien species and they all appear to get along well together.”  Embree paused and said, “As I understand it, you and the CO interrupted his ships from attacking a Unity Ship; is that right?”

Leo nodded, “It is.”

“He was prevented from taking that ship and you also destroyed a couple of his vessels.  Sir, if you were in his place, what would you have done about it?”

“What are you saying?”

“Well, if Blakely had just let you go on your way without reprisal, his crews would have felt he didn’t have their backs.  He was pretty much forced to take action against the ship that interrupted his attack.  He killed the CO because Mark chose to intervene in the attack.  You’ve told us many times that with every choice comes consequences and you should be prepared for them before you make the decision.  Mark paid the consequences of a bad decision.”

“He killed two members of Victoria’s family.”

“Sir, I’ve heard you discuss what happened and I think it’s pretty clear he was ordered to kill them by whoever hired him to attack that Starliner.  I think it’s clear that once the possibility of opening that safe was gone, he didn’t continue killing the others in Victoria’s family when he was probably paid to do so.  The one to blame for those killings is the one that hired him to do them.”  Embree paused and then said, “Sir, it’s just like when we were hired as mercenaries to fight for those that hired us.  We killed a lot of beings but the ones responsible for those deaths were the ones that hired us to do it.  I think Blakely showed remarkable restraint and, though I know he killed the CO, I just can’t muster up enough anger toward him knowing the facts of what happened.”

Leo stared at Embree and said, “What does the crew think about this mission?”

“Sir, they respect you more than you’ll ever know and they will walk through the gates of hell following you.  They respect your judgement and if you’ve decided that Blakely deserves it, then they will support you in making it happen.”  Embree looked him in the eyes and smiled, “Just as I will, Sir.”

Leo stood up and began pulling his sword out and putting it back in the scabbard, “Thanks, Em.”

“Sir, I’m sorry if I’ve disappointed you.”

Leo paused with the sword being held at waist level and shook his head, “Embree, I respect your opinion more than you know.  Even if you disagree with me, I never want you to withhold your views.  I need the members of my team to be honest and forthcoming in their dealings with me.  No man can see it all and I depend on you to tell me when you disagree with me more than when you do.”

Embree stood up, “Thank you, Sir.  Maybe no man can see it all, but you don’t miss much.  That’s why all of us are still alive today.”

Embree left the training room and Leo blew out a breath as he sat down in the chair.  He put the sword instantly into the scabbard and raised his left hand to rub the back of his neck.  He closed his eyes and slowly began shaking his head.  Embree was right.  He was going to capture this Pirate Fleet Commander, who actually did have many traits he admired, and send him to a man he detested.  And what was the only motivation to do this…wealth.  He was acting just like Serge Romanov.  But he was too deep into it now to back out.  He stood up and began pulling the sword at a faster and faster pace.  His mind was elsewhere and his body was released.  He took off the plastic covering from the blade and continued at a speed too fast to follow.  He didn’t really care if he did cause himself harm; at the moment, he didn’t really like himself.

• • •

Leonidas led his crew off the large transport and looked at the giant building directly in front of him.  It was four stories tall and covered more than a hundred acres.  It was possibly the biggest structure he had ever seen and he had seen some large ones during his travels.  He smiled and said, “Let’s go meet the Council gentlemen.”  He walked up to the main entrance and noticed that many of the pirates moving toward the building grew silent as they passed.  He wondered what was going on.  They arrived at the entrance and a tall Graman said, “May I see your pass?”

“I didn’t know I needed one.”

“What is the name of your vessel?”

“The Thermopylae.”

The Graman looked at a screen he was holding, looked up and smiled, “You’re the new residents.  Captain Alexander, you have a chair reserved on the main floor directly in front of the Councilors.  Your crew has a section set aside for them on the second floor.”  The Graman motioned to two other aliens standing a few feet away and said, “One of you please take Captain Alexander to his chair and the other take his crew to their section.”

The strange looking alien said in perfect Cartian, “Captain, if you will follow me.”

Leo looked over his shoulder, “Embree, you’re in command.”  Barney’s eyes narrowed and Leo said, “He knows all the rules and regulations governing this planet.”  Barney’s eyes opened wide and he nodded.  Putting Embree in command made perfect sense.  Leo followed the alien into the building and his crew followed the other alien to their roped off section on the second floor.

• • •

Leo sat between two high ranking pirates that had fleets under their command.  One was a Graman and the other was human named Geoffrey.  They were very friendly and personable and Leo felt a sense of brotherhood between them.  They were obviously proud of being a part of the Fellowship community.  Leo looked around and saw that most of the pirates sitting around him were fleet commanders.  The human saw him and said, “You’re wondering why you’re sitting here among the highest ranking pirates.”  Leo nodded.  “The seating is not arranged by the number of ships we have but by our financial status.  Your being here with us tells everyone present that you are quite wealthy.”

“Thank you for sharing that information with me.”

“No problem, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.”

Leo smiled and turned around.  He finally found his crew sitting directly above him on the second floor.  He focused his vision and scanned the upper floor close to his crew and immediately saw the Beligeese who commanded the pirate ship that survived the attack on his ship.  He noticed that the entire section was filled with multiple crews and all of them were staring at his crew with a clear hatred on their faces.  The ship commander only had eyes for him and when he saw Leonidas staring toward him he lowered his eyes and frowned.  Leo saw the pattern clearly, something was going on and it involved him and his crew.  A loud tone erupted from the huge speakers scattered around the building and Leo turned around as the Pirate Council moved up to the raised dais in front of him.  The five Council Members were dressed extravagantly and it was clear they were quite wealthy.  They also clearly gave the impression that they were impressed with themselves.  Leo figured it was part of maintaining a public image.  One thing was certain, these five Pirate Commanders represented the real power here and you didn’t want to get on their bad side.  Blakely was the last to step up and he remained standing until the room became silent.  He looked around the room with a stern expression and it only took a moment for the huge building to become absolutely silent.

Geoffrey leaned over and whispered to him, “No one is allowed to break the silence unless the Council directs a question to them.”  Leo nodded understanding and continued to stare at Blakely.  He looked exactly like he did on the Starliner, except for the audacious clothing he was wearing.  He wore a tri-cornered hat similar to his own in shape but that’s as far as the similarity went.  The feather coming out above it had to be six feet long.  His shirt was open to the middle of his chest with wide brilliant gold and purple vertical stripes were something to behold.  The other four Councilors sat back in their padded chairs and left it to Blakely to handle the agenda.

• • •

The first hour of the meeting was handing out disciplinary punishments to pirates that were accused of breaking the peace.  If two pirates got into a fight, a shouting match throwing insults at each other and their ships, or disrupted the peace by drunken behavior, the punishment was consistent.  Usually both parties were given between five and ten lashes with the cat of nine electric tails.  It was very rare that only one received punishment and that only happened when it was proven that one of the accused pirates displayed incredible patience in not taking part in the altercation.  The punishment was immediately delivered outside the front entrance.

Finally, Blakely looked down at a screen in front of his chair and said, “Captain Leonidas Alexander, please step forward and stand in the green circle in front of the Council.”  Leo stood up and walked forward across a large clear section directly in front of the Council.  He noticed that there was a larger red circle surrounding the area as he walked to the small green circle.  He stood in the green circle and Blakely sat down.  He looked at Leonidas and said into the microphone in front of him, “Normally, the Council would take this moment to welcome a new ship into our Fellowship; however, before that can take place, there is a grievance against you that must be handled.”  Leo saw the four other Councilors were glaring at him as he heard Blakely say, “The crew of the Thermopylae will come down and stand behind their captain.  The captain of the Argyan Fleet will come down with his crews and stand beside the other crew.”

Leo stood there and began focusing on the pattern he was seeing.  The five Councilors believed he had done something wrong and their loyalty appeared to be with the Argyans.  He forced himself to calm as his crew arrived and stood behind him.  The Argyans arrived and gathered to the left.  Everyone was finally in place and Blakely said to the Argyans, “State your grievance.”

The Beligeese stepped forward and said, “I was present when it took place and have been ordered by my captain to give the Council a report on what happened.”

Blakely nodded, “Go ahead.”

“I was tracking a freighter to take it and this Captain’s ship moved in and threatened to attack if we didn’t leave.  I offered to share the takings and he refused.  My former captain arrived and he still refused to leave and allow us to take the freighter.  He then turned on us and attacked our ships.  He caught us by surprise and damaged my vessel forcing it into normal space.   He then destroyed the Captain’s ship.  We demand the Captain of the Thermopylae be punished for his actions and pay for the damages he caused.”

Leonidas stared at the Beligeese during his report and saw he was nervous.  The gathering of pirates were glaring at Leonidas and his crew and even Geoffrey was angry at what he heard.  The five members of the Council openly showed their rage at what happened.

Blakely looked at Leonidas, “Do you have a response to the Argyan’s accusations?”

Leonidas looked at the Argyans and saw their smug expressions.  He looked at the Council and said, “I have to assume that if it comes down to my word against members of the Fellowship, you will be forced to side with current members.”

The Councilor sitting next to Blakely snarled, “They are part of the brotherhood and would not lie.”

Blakely jerked his head around and glared at the Councilor and he quickly said, “I apologize, Council Leader.  This just makes my blood boil.”

Blakely turned back to Leonidas, “You are right about whose word we will take on this matter.”

Leo saw the Argyans all smiling until he said, “Is that monitor on the back wall operational?”

Blakely’s eyes narrowed and he said, “Every monitor in this building is functional!”

Leo took out his communicator and began pressing buttons.  He stepped forward and handed it to Blakely, “Will you please connect my communicator to your monitors?”

“Why would I want to do that, Captain?”

“I would hope you’d want to do it to find out the truth.”  Blakely stared at Leonidas and looked over his shoulder.  An assistant came forward and took the communicator.  He held it next to a communication panel and then handed it back to Leo.  A few moments later, every monitor in the building activated.  Everyone present saw the tall human standing directly behind Leonidas appear sitting in a chair on a ship’s bridge.  Everyone in the building heard the tall human say on the monitors:

“What are you going to do, Captain?”

“Tell them that the freighter is our bone and not theirs to chew on.”  Leo looked at Carl, “Put the contact frequency on my panel.”  The frequency appeared in the communicator display and Leonidas pressed it as the crew rushed to Battlestations, “Attention Braxel, I notice that you are now following a freighter that I’ve been trailing for more than three days.  I would appreciate your backing off and leaving.”

The alien that accused him appeared on Leo’s display and snarled, “You would be well advised to go elsewhere.  What I do is none of your concern and I do not tolerate interference in my actions.”

Leo looked at Carl, “What kind of species is he?”

“Beligeese, Sir.”

He turned back to the display as a printout appeared next to the alien’s image with information about its home world.  “Unfortunately, I claimed this freighter before you showed up today.  I’ve already claimed it.”

“THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE TAKEN IT!!”

“Finding the proper place to do that is what’s caused my delay.  You know how it is, too many witnesses.  That’s why you’ve not moved in on it yet as well.  I will tell you that if you attempt to take my freighter, I will be forced to stop you.”

Leo muted the frequency and looked at Carl, “Weapons?”

“Similar to our own; four blasters, however, I see no missile ports, Sir.”

The monitors went dark and Leo said loudly, “The next recording took place six hours later.”  The monitors activated again and everyone in the building turned to them.

• • •

The Thermopylae accelerated and moved in close behind the freighter.  They followed the freighter for six hours as the pirate maintained position behind them.  Leonidas’ display illuminated and the alien appeared, “You’ve had plenty of opportunities to take that freighter!”

Leo smiled, “And the only reason I haven’t is because you are waiting for me to do just that.  Any idiot knows that attacking a ship leaves you wide open to be attacked while your crew is on the other ship.  You should leave, now!”

“We could agree to share in the takings from the freighter and take it together.”

“I might have accepted your offer six hours ago but it’s clear your intentions were to attack my ship when I moved on the freighter.  I don’t like that and will not share anything with you!”

“You have no proof that was my intention!”

“You’re wearing a space suit, now.  You don’t have the helmet on but I can see the suit below your face.  You don’t need a space suit against an unarmed freighter.  Oh, your intentions are quite clear.”

“If you wait much longer, that freighter will arrive at its destination and you will lose it.”

“There will be others,” Leonidas replied as the display went dark.

“Sir, I detect power being directed to their blasters,” Carl said.  Suddenly, Carl’s head went back, “Sir, I have another ship moving at high speed toward us on the filament.”

“Where is it flagged, Carl?”

“Tortuga, Sir.”

“Barney, slow the ship so the freighter moves out of scanning range.”  The Thermopylae slowed and the Pirate behind it slowed as well maintaining its distance.  The second ship arrived twenty minutes later and pulled up alongside the first pirate.  Leonidas looked at the ship on the tactical display and said, “Weapons, Carl?”

“The second ship has six blasters on its hull.  It doesn’t appear to have missile ports.”

Leonidas nodded, “That must be the Captain and he’s coming to support one of his vessels.” He pressed his intercom button, “Blaster Teams, I want you to target the four blasters on the first ship and nothing else.  I don’t want to destroy either ship if it can be avoided.”

The monitors showed the tactical monitor on the Thermopylae and everyone in the room saw the two ships with blasters activated flying at high speed toward the single ship.

• • •

The monitors went dark again and Leonidas said loudly, “I am not going to show the tactics I used to meet these two ships; I might have to use them again in the future.  We managed to damage one ship but we hit the other ship with a lucky blaster beam in its reactor exploding it into vapor.  The next recording takes place after the battle was over.

• • •

“Take us to the pirate’s exit point!” Leonidas commanded.  The Thermopylae turned back across the filament and stopped at the debris of the destroyed pirate ship.  Barney shut down the stardrive and the ship entered normal space.  Five hundred miles away they saw the second pirate ship smoking from the blaster hits it had taken.

Gold looked at the ship on the monitor and tilted his head, “It appears you missed one of the blasters on the bottom.”

Leo nodded, “I can see that we hit it to the left side.  I think we disabled it.”

“Don’t get close enough to find out,” Barney quickly said.

Leo nodded and lifted his communicator.  He pressed a button and the pirate commanding the Braxel appeared, “I didn’t destroy your vessel but I was unable to avoid the destruction of your second ship.”

The Pirate stared at him and his rage was clear.  Leonidas shrugged, “I think you’re going to need another Fleet Captain.”

• • •

The monitors went dark and Leonidas said, “I could have destroyed that damaged ship but chose not to do it.  All I did was defend myself against two attacking ships and the thanks I get for not killing the second ship is to have the Ship Commander deliberately lie about what happened.  Ask them to bring their recording of the event and see for yourselves that I’ve been falsely accused.”

The five Councilors were staring at the Argyans and the entire building was deathly silent.  Blakely stared at the Beligeese who made the accusation and finally said, “I wish to see your recording of what happened.”

The Beligeese looked at the other crewmembers and said, “I’m sorry, Lead Councilor, I can’t provide the recording?”

“Why not!?” Blakely demanded.

“I was ordered by my captain to turn it over to him.”

Blakely looked at the Argyans and said, “Bring me the recording.”  No one moved and Blakely lowered his eyes, “I really don’t need it do I?  It would only confirm what Captain Alexander has shown us, right?”

The Beligeese said, “Yes, Lead Councilor, it would.”

Blakely’s anger was clear, “Then why did you deliberately lie about the confrontation?”

“I was ordered by my Fleet Commander to tell it like I reported, Lead Councilor.”

“Well I’m ordering you to tell the truth!!”

“What you saw on the monitor is what happened.”

The Argyans standing around the Beligeese moved away from him and their hatred was evident.  The Beligeese looked at them and said, “I told you it was foolish to do this.”

Suddenly the room heard an Argyan shout, “I demand a Possession Duel!!”

Blakely sneered at the Argyans, “You’re in no position to call for a duel!!”

The Argyan Fleet Commander stepped forward, “It has already been paid for and the Tortugan Authority has sanctioned it!”

Blakely jerked his head to the left and the Tortugan Official raised both hands and said, “The Argyans paid the fee earlier today, Lead Councilor.  It is within their rights to do so.  If we knew about this in advance, we would have not accepted it.”

“Then refund their payment!!”

The Tortugan was obviously distressed, “I’m sorry, Lead Councilor, but the Original Charter prohibits us from doing so.”

The five Councilors were livid.  They had been deliberately lied to and now the Argyans were deliberately adding insult to injury.  Leo looked up at Blakely, “What is a Possession Duel.  I saw nothing about it in the laws and regulations governing behavior on Tortuga.”

Blakely tore his eyes away from the Argyans, “It only involves Captains of ships, Captain Alexander.  Any Captain may pay a fee of two million credits to challenge any other captain to a duel for possession of their property.  It appears the Argyans have paid for the duel and you have limited options.”

“What are they?”

“If you refuse to participate in the duel, you will lose your ship, all the deposits you made and your crew will be executed.  However, you will not lose your life.  If you accept the duel, the winner will take possession of everything owned by the loser.”  Blakely looked at the Argyans, “And who is chosen to be your champion?”

A strange looking creature stepped out from the middle of the Argyan crews and Embree whispered in Leonidas’ ear, “That’s a Dacon, Captain.  You cut off a piece of it and it grows right back.  Even a blaster won’t stop it.”  Leo stared at the creature twitching in front of him and Embree leaned back in and whispered, “Did I mention they are reputed to be incredibly fast and their hides are as tough as steel?”

Leo shook his head, “No, you didn’t?”

“Well, they are.”

Leo stared at the smiling monster and shook his head and thought, Damned if you do and damned if you don’t.

Chapter Eighteen

The Councilor sitting to Blakely’s right stood up and yelled, “The Dacon does not meet the requirements!!  It is not a Captain!”

The Beligeese replied, “I was demoted before this meeting and the Dacon was given command of my ship.”

“What reason were you given for being demoted!?” the Councilor demanded.

The Beligeese looked at the Argyan Fleet Commander and said, “It was felt I was offering bad advice, Councilor.  I advised against doing this.”

Blakely looked at the Fleet Commander and said, “You might win this duel but afterwards you will punished for lying to the Council…”

The Argyan Fleet Commander interrupted, “I’m sorry, Lead Councilor, but the punishment for lying to the Council is banishment from Fellowship.  You do not have the authority to use any other punishment according to the Charter.”

Leonidas turned to Blakely, “Are you telling me that every captain in this building can challenge me to a possession duel to take my ship and wealth?”

Blakely shook his head, “No, a Captain may only be challenged once.  Quite honestly, I suspect there are many others that planned to do exactly what the Argyans are doing.  You were blatantly obvious in depositing your wealth.  However, the Council’s issue with them is their deliberate attempt to deceive us.”

The Argyan Fleet Commander laughed, “We will take his ship and credits and go out and buy a new place to live.”

The crews standing around the Fleet Commander had their heads lowered in shame.  They could see the entire gathering glaring at them but they had no choice but to follow the Commander’s orders.

Blakely stared at the Fleet Commander and said, “You better buy a place that I can’t find.  Once you’re out of the Fellowship, you will not be immune from the consequences of your actions.  I will find you and extract vengeance for this fine crew and Captain you’ve wronged today.”

Leonidas stared at Blakely shaking his head and Blakely turned to him, “I promise you, Captain, I will make them pay for this.”  Blakely shook his head and formally said, “Captain Alexander, do you choose to participate in the Possession Duel?”

“It really appears I have no choice but to agree.  If my crew dies, I will die with them.  I will participate.”

“Since you are the one being challenged, you have the choice of weapons.”

Leonidas glanced at the Dacon and saw it smiling.  “I chose to use a sword.”

Blakely immediately started shaking his head and the entire assembly groaned at what was said.  The Fleet Commander yelled, “He’s made the choice; he can’t change it now!!”

Blakely looked at the Commander of the Argyans, “I am going to enjoy cutting you into tiny pieces.”  He turned to Leonidas and shook head, “The Dacon’s skin is too tough for a sword to damage.  I was thinking you would select a blaster.”

Leo looked at Blakely and smiled, “What would be fun in that?”  Blakely’s eyes went wide open as Leo asked, “Where do we do this?”

The Councilor at the left end of the table stood up and moved off the dais to stand between the two crews.  He said, “There is a red circle on the floor.  The duel will take place inside the circle.”  He looked up and shouted, “Guards, take the crews outside the circle and cover them with blasters.”  The Councilor looked at Leo, “Your crew deserves to be able to see you fight for them.”

Gold stepped forward and said, “Captain, perhaps it would be better if I took your place.”

The Dacon saw the Insectoid step out from the crew and it immediately stopped twitching.  It did not want to fight an Insectoid.   Blakely asked, “Does the insectoid command one of your ships?”

Leo slowly shook his head, “No, he does not.”

“Then he is not eligible to participate in the duel.”  Blakely announced over the loudspeakers, “Clear the dueling area.  The duel will start when the tone is sounded.”

Leo studied the Dacon and took inventory of what he was up against.  The creature was shaped very much like a legendary centaur.  Like a centaur, the torso rose out of the front of the main body but that’s where the similarity ended.  Its dark mahogany hide looked like a reptile’s with a grainy pebbled surface.  It had four short thick legs under its body that lifted it about eighteen inches off the floor.  It had a thick tail about seven feet long that appeared to be used to help balance the body.  A torso emerged from the front of the thick body that had a two heavily muscled limbs that ended in what looked very much like scorpion claws.  The head was a foot or so above the arms and it had a pointed snout with two rows of jagged teeth in its mouth.  The creature’s eyes were red with black pupils located in the center of the face above the snout.  It started moving from side-to-side and its tail whipped around when it turned.  It would slam its claws together each time it turned causing a loud noise like the crack of a whip that filled the arena.  “Do you think that puny breast covering is going to help you!?  I’m going to crush it with you inside it!” the Dacon sneered.

Leo continued to focus on the creature and got a feel for its speed.  It was fast, no doubt about that, but it couldn’t change direction quickly.  The tail was the main danger he had to avoid when it turned.  The torso was not directly above the creature’s body but extended forward at an angle.  The tail was needed to keep it balanced.  Leonidas quickly asked, “What happens if my opponent leaves the red circle?”

Blakely removed his hand from the button that would sound the tone and said, “The fight will stop until it returns inside it.  It will restart when another tone is sounded.”

The Dacon shouted loudly, “Don’t even think I’ll give you an opportunity to escape the circle!  This is where you die!”

Leo’s focus was better than any time since his body was changed by Gem.  He knew that Blakely was an honorable man and though he had killed numerous times in the past, so had he in fighting on planets that meant nothing to him.  His vow to make the Aryans pay for their sins made an impact on him and he didn’t really care if his life ended today.  He fought to save his crew, not himself.  The fear he initially felt had evaporated.  When you don’t fear dying, there is no place for fear to dwell.  He walked into the middle of the floor and crossed his arms.  The Dacon watched him and roared just as the tone sounded.

The Dacon rushed across the circle at an incredible speed and extended its two clawed arms wide to crush Leo between them.  Leo waited with crossed arms and just before it slammed into him, he moved to the left at a speed that was impossible, pulled the sword out faster than could be seen, and slammed it down on the Dacon’s tail as it flashed past him.   The Dacon managed to barley stop next to the edge of the red circle and was flailing its arms to avoid leaving the circle.  It was front heavy from the loss of its tail and it struggled to keep its balance.  Leo walked up behind it, put his foot on the stump that was quickly growing and shoved the Dacon forward.  The monster fell forward and its arms and head slammed into the hard wooden floor.

Leo walked over to the still twitching tail he had cut off and stuck his sword into it.  He calmly walked over to the edge of the circle away from the Dacon and tossed the tail out of the circle.  In an instant, his sword was back in the scabbard and Leo walked to the center of the circle and crossed his arms.

Gold watched the fight and didn’t know who was shocked the most; the Dacon or all the thousands of pirates watching.  The giant building was absolutely silent.  The silence was broken when Blakely yelled, “Why didn’t you finish him?”

Leo shrugged, “What’s the fun in that?”

The Dacon stood outside the circle waiting for its tail to regrow and Blakely said, “Reenter the circle or forfeit the duel!”

Leo was surprised by how quickly the tail was growing.  The Dacon moved to its feet and it was five feet long as it entered the circle.  It was back to its full length by the time Blakely sounded the tone again.  It moved forward cautiously and didn’t rush headlong at Leo.  Leo watched it moving toward him and he saw the left arm move slightly.  However, he could see the muscles under the skin in the right arm tensing.  The Dacon moved from side-to-side with its arms spread wide preventing Leonidas from moving around it.  Then it moved in and moved the left arm slightly as it whipped its right arm with the huge claw at Leo’s head.  Leo ducked under the arm and lifted the sword out of the scabbard and held it over his head.  The arm flashed over him and was severed at the shoulder joint as it hit the sword’s blade.  Leo came up out of his crouch and cut off the two front legs as he stepped behind the advancing adversary.  The Dacon was now rear heavy and it fell backward on its tail. 

The Dacon tried to get its body down as Leo arrived behind the Dacon and cut off its tail again but this time took a huge slice of its body with it.  The Dacon’s torso slammed down to the floor.   Leo walked across the floor and sat down with his legs crossed close to the struggling Dacon.  No one saw him put the sword back in the scabbard but it was there with the handle showing just over his left shoulder.

The Dacon couldn’t move.  It now knew it was up against some sort of demon and that the human could have killed it twice if it chose.  It looked up at Leo and heard him quietly say, “I really don’t want to kill you.  Are you willing to call this off?”

The Dacon closed its eyes and shook its head, “I can’t for the same reason you have to fight.  I’m fighting for the lives of my fellow crews and have no other choice.”  They spoke quietly and the gathered thousands could not hear what was being said.  The Dacon was regenerating fast and Leo thought about what was going to happen.  He knew the Argyan Crews were ashamed of what was happening and this creature was put into a situation  that it had no idea of what it was going to face nor did he did not want to be there.  Once his parts regenerated, the Dacon charged again and this time it hit the floor with all four legs, both arms, and its tail left lying on the floor.

Leo stared at the wounded creature and walked over to the edge of the circle and stepped out.  Blakey roared, “Finish it.  It’s not right to make it suffer like this!!”

“Before I go back into the circle, I have a question.”

The five Councilors looked at Leo like he was insane; stopping a duel to ask a question was unheard of.  Blakely looked at the Dacon quickly regenerating its body parts and said, “What is your question?”

“You say that the winner of this duel takes possession of all the holdings of the loser, is that correct?”

The Dacon looked up from the floor and listened to what was going on.  Blakely nodded, “That’s correct.  The crews will be executed and you will take possession of their ships and monetary holdings.”

“Aren’t the crews part of their possessions?”

Blakely’s stood up and he looked at the other Councilors.  They all stared at him and it was clear they didn’t know how to answer the question.  Blakely turned to Leo and said, “I honestly don’t know.  No one has ever asked that question before.”

Leo looked at the Argyan Crews as he said, “It appears to me that the crews are part of the ships that make them operate just like a reactor, engines, or any other piece that is essential for the ship to function.  The ships won’t operate without a crew.”

Blakely looked at the other Councilors again and the Councilor sitting to Blakely’s right broke the silence, “I suppose he is correct about that.  If he wants the crews to man the ships, he should be given that option.”

Blakely turned back to Leo, “The crews are part of the Argyan possessions.  It would be wise for you to have them executed; you will not be able to trust them.” 

Leo stepped back into the circle and walked over to the Dacon, “I will not harm your crews.  I will use them to operate the ships.  Now you do have another option and I do hope you use it.  You are back to your full strength now and if you choose to continue this, I will end it.  Are you willing to call this off?”

The Dacon stared at Leo and flexed its arms and tail.  It looked over at the Argyan Fleet Commander who was screaming at him to attack.  He turned and walked over to the edge of the circle directly in front of the Council, looked up at Blakely, and said, “I choose to not participate in this Duel.”

The entire building erupted in a giant roar as the thousands of pirates stood up and cheered.  Blakely shook his head and allowed it to continue for a few minutes and then he sounded the tone.  The room became instantly silent and he looked at Leonidas “Captain you now own all six Argyan Ships as your personal property.  Are there any other ships that you currently own other than the Thermopylae?”

Leo quickly said, “I also command a ship we use as a decoy.  It appears to be a pleasure yacht but it is armed.  The ship’s name is the Play Toy.”

Blakely looked at the Tortugan Official, “Please add these ships to Captain Alexander’s registry.”  The Official nodded and began speaking into a tablet it was holding.

Blakely turned back to Leo, “What’s to prevent the Argyan ships from leaving and not coming back?”

Leo looked at the Argyans and said where they could hear, “First things first.”  He turned to Blakely, “I do not consider that Fleet Commander as a possession.”

Blakely smiled broadly and said, “Guards, remove the Fleet Commander and carry out his execution.”  The Fleet Commander was grabbed forcibly and pulled toward the entrance; he screamed all the way out of the building.  Leo turned back to the Argyan Crews and pointed at the Beligeese, “You, what is your name?”

“You couldn’t pronounce it, Captain.  Everyone calls me Black Hat.”

Leo smiled.  He was wearing a large black hat that came down over his ears.  “You are now in overall command of the Argyan Ships.  You’ve shown that you will follow orders and tell the truth even when it’s dangerous to do so.  You will take the six ships and continue to operate as you have in the past but you will pay me twenty percent of all your takings.  You will continue to do that for five years and at the end of that time, you will be given your freedom and stop having to make payments.”

The Argyans stared at Leo stunned by the offer.  Blakely smiled and said, “That will prevent them from fleeing with their ships.  It would cost them a lot more than twenty percent to have to go to another place to live.”

Leo nodded, “All of you plan to meet with me at my quarters tonight after this meeting is concluded.”  Leo turned to the Tortugan Representative, “Would it be possible for you to be there as well so we can sort out how these payments will be made?”

The Tortugan licked his face, “Absolutely.”

Blakely looked around the giant arena, picked up a thick book from his console, and said over the PA system, “I would like to officially welcome the Thermopylae and its crew to Fellowship as its newest residents.  Captain Alexander, I’m presenting you with this book that covers all the regulations and laws that govern how the Ship Commanders function in our society.  It will tell you your responsibilities and benefits while living here.  Welcome to our brotherhood.”

The entire gathering rose and cheered the newest ship and shouted out ‘Thermopylae’ at the top of their voices.  Blakely looked down from the dais at Leo and said, “Why did you really choose to not kill the crews?”

Leo looked up at him and smiled, “It would be bad for business.”

Blakely smiled and then his eyes narrowed as he stared at Leo.  After a moment, his eyes widened, “I KNOW YOU!”

Leo smiled, “Indeed you do, Lead Councilor.”  That was the last thing said between them as Leo’s crew lifted him up on their shoulders and carried him toward the entrance.  Blakely was left behind staring at Leonidas as he disappeared out of the building.

They arrived back at their quarters and Leo said to Carl, “Get the meeting room set up for the Argyans.  I want everyone present so you may have to move some chairs out of your personal quarters.”  Carl nodded and began issuing orders.

“Sir, I must confess that I was worried about you.”

“So was I, Barney.”

“It’s a good thing you had Embree in command.  I was prepared to order the crew in and fight our way out.”

“Did he point out why that would be a mistake?”

Barney sighed, “Yes; I didn’t see the blasters in the ceiling above the dueling area.”  Barney paused, “Sir, I really think that the ship would be better served if you made Embree your second-in-command.”  Leo started shaking his head and Barney quickly said, “I’ll be glad to command any ground attacks but I can see Embree sees things I miss and that could prove to be fatal.  You need look no further than what happened tonight.”

Leo paused and said, “Are you sure about this, Barney?”

Barney smiled and shrugged, “There’s no place for an ego in doing the right thing, Captain.  Besides, our former ranks don’t apply in this new world we find ourselves in.”

Leo put his hand on Barney’s shoulder, “I know you weren’t in my unit but I see you as one of my own.  This proves to me that I was right in choosing you to be on this mission.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

• • •

The Tortugan Official arrived a moment later with a crew that began moving chairs out of a hauler into the meeting room.  Leo looked at him in wonder and the Tortugan said, “I…Uhhh…looked at the…inventory of your…quarters and saw that…there are not enough…chairs to hold…your meeting.”

Leo smiled, “How much does this cost me?”

The Tortugan raised his beak, “Nothing, Captain.  We allowed you to be…put in danger tonight and…this is my way…of apologizing.”

“Are you equipped to make transfers tonight?”

The Tortugan licked his face, “We are always prepared to make transfers, Captain.  The Argyans use a different bank than ours.  We welcome them to move their assets to us.”

The Argyans arrived and Leo looked at the Beligeese as he said, “I’m sorry, Captain.  We had to walk here from the arena.  The former Fleet Commander pretty much bankrupted us in paying for the duel and we couldn’t afford to pay for a ride here.”  Leo saw the Tortugan was not happy at hearing that.

Leo nodded and shouted to his crew, “Bring our visitors something to drink.”

Leo moved to the front of the room, sat down behind a console, and waited for the Argyans to be given something to drink and snack on.  Finally, everyone was sitting in silence waiting for him to speak.  “Black Hat, I’m sure all of your crews had time to discuss what happened tonight on your walk over here.  Tell me what you’ve determined.”  Black Hat looked around at the other Argyans and saw their nervousness. Leo said, “Tell me the truth.”

“Captain, there is great concern about what you are going to do with us.  The Ship Commanders fear you are going to have them replaced with a member of your crew and the regular crewmen are greatly concerned about how we are going to survive with all of our holdings being wasted on this duel.  They question if we will be able to go out when we’re unable to purchase the fuel we’d need to do it.”

“What else?”

“Our rent is due tomorrow.  We don’t have it.”

Leo stared at the Argyans and said, “You left out that they fear that once I learn they are a liability that I might order them executed.”

Black Hat shrugged, “It would be a natural response to our predicament.”

“Before I address these issues, there are some things that you need to be aware of before we do anything else.”  Leo paused and said, “I own all of you.  Many of your freedoms go away as a result of that and one of them is the right to choose who leads you.”

Leo stared at them and Black Hat replied, “Yes, Captain.  We realize that for all intents and purposes, we are, in effect, your slaves.”

“You will be the Fleet Commander of the six Argyan Ships.  You may not be replaced or challenged by any one on the six ships.  Do all of you understand?!”

The Argyans all said together, “Yes, Captain.”

“For the moment, I am not going to change any current Ship Commander.  I will keep my eyes on you and if you do what I order, you will keep your commands.”  Leo saw the Argyans in the front chairs start to relax.  Leo looked at the Dacon, “You will retain the command of the ship you were promoted to lead.”  He looked at Black Hat, “I expect you to go out with the ships and give me an accounting of what you see.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Further, my senior officers out rank all of you.  If they issue you orders, you will follow them as if I’m making them.”

Leo paused and the Argyans shouted, “Yes, Captain.”

“One other thing.”  Leo lowered his eyes and said very deliberately, “I will not tolerate needless killing of crews or passengers on the ships you attack.  If you have to kill to defend yourself, I will listen to your reasons and make a determination if no other option was available.  You all know that most ships will surrender if they know they will not lose their lives.  It is bad for business to wantonly kill.  If you don’t adhere to this order, I will execute you without a second thought.”

“Yes, Captain!!”

Leo looked at the Tortugan Official who was looking quite glum, “I notice that the buildings on each side of this one are unoccupied.”

“Yes, Captain…there has been no one…able to pay the rent…to take possession.”

“Is there rent similar to this one?”

“The one on the left is slightly less.”

“How much less?”

“Six thousand…a month…it does not have a pool.”

Leo reached in his pocket and pulled out a white card, “I want you to open an account in the Argyan’s name and transfer ten million credits into it.”  The Argyans and the Bank Official were shocked silent.  The Bank Official was too stunned to lick his face.  “Once the transfer is made, I want a card granting access to the account given to Black Hat.”  Leo looked at him as he said, “I want a monthly accounting of how much is used.”

Barney came forward and took the card from Leo and took it to the official.  The Tortugan slid the card into a slot and began pressing buttons.  After a few moments, he looked up with his mouth beak wide open.  Leo smiled, “The first expenditures will be made to rent the two buildings next to this one.  I also want movers hired to transfer the Argyans possessions from their current quarters to the new buildings.  I want them moved in within twenty-four hours.  Can you make that happen?”

The Tortugan’s tongue was back in action, “Yes, Captain!  We’ll start the process tonight.”

“Further, I want another account established and all the future takings from the Argyan ships will be deposited into that account.  I want another two million transferred into that account to replace what was spent on the duel.”

“YES, CAPTAIN!”

Leo looked at Black Hat, “You will use the first account to pay your bills and I’m holding you personally responsible to use them wisely.”

“Captain, I will do as you ask but this is not something we can understand.  You are trusting us with this wealth and you have every reason to punish us for what happened, not reward us.”

Leo slowly shook his head as he said, “You are now a part of my crew.  I didn’t ask for this but one thing I will do is take care of those under my command.  I will come to your defense, if needed, and I will make sure you do not go hungry or wanting for things necessary to survive.  The ones that are assigned to the building without a pool will have free access to the one here or at the other building.  All of you will be given a wage each month and I would encourage you to save as much of it as possible against the time you pay off your debt to me and are free to go your way.”

Black Hat sighed, “Captain, we may never pay off our debt with the rental expenses that these two buildings cost.”

“They will not be included in your debt.”

“WHAT?”

“You are an investment.  I fully expect there would be expenses in making you ultimately profitable, however, you will not have those expenses added to your debt.”

One of the Argyan Ship Commanders asked, “What about the wages paid to the Commanders?”

“You will be paid the same wage as the members of your crews.  You will be allowed to choose your personal quarters first and those quarters will be much larger than those assigned to your crews.  I recognize that you will need the additional space to handle your duties.  If your ships are successful, you will be paid a large bonus the day you pay off your debt.  You will also be responsible for taking good care of my crews on board your ships.  You will be replaced if I find you put yourselves ahead of them.”  Leo looked at the Ship Commanders, “If this isn’t acceptable, you may resign your positions now.  However, if you choose to keep your commands, I will hold you responsible for not wasting the lives of those under your command.  Do any of you wish to step down?”  The six Commanders looked at each other and shook their heads.  Leo looked at Barney, “Please take the Argyans to the cafeteria and have the kitchen staff prepare a meal for them while our Bank Representative orders transportation to take them back to their quarters to start packing for the move.”

Barney stood up, “If all of you will follow me, please.”

Leo looked at Embree, “I need to speak with you.”

Embree walked over and Leo said, “Effective immediately, you are promoted to Second-in-Command.”

Embree’s eyes narrowed, “But, Captain…”

“This is not optional, Em.  You know you are the best one for the position and I’m not going to waste time trying to convince you.  I’ll announce it in the morning.”

“But…Carl…”

“Carl would not want it and would fight tooth and nail to avoid it.  I tried to promote him numerous times in the past and he insists he is too grouchy to command himself much less anyone else.  Just tell him you took the position to prevent me from offering it to him.”

“And you think he’ll accept that.”

“Go and tell him now and see how he reacts?”

Embree glanced across the meeting room at Carl.  He took a deep breath and walked toward him.  Leo watched them and after a moment, he saw Carl actually grab Embree and hug him.  Embree’s eyes were wide open as he looked across the room at Leo.  Leo smiled and tipped his hat.

Chapter Nineteen

Desiree and Victoria were sitting in a tavern and it was clear they were not happy.  Victoria looked at Desiree and sighed, “I just can’t make myself get into a party mood.  I’m worried about Leo and his crew being on Tortuga.”

Desiree nodded, “I feel the same.  I really hate that we are both vying for his affection and that makes me want to avoid having to resolve that issue.” 

Desiree put her drink down and stared at Victoria.  “What?” Victoria asked.

“Victoria, I’ve given this situation a lot of thought and I see that you would be the better choice for Leo.  I’m going to step out of the competition.”

“Just how did you arrive at that conclusion?!”

Desiree gave a heavy sigh and lowered her eyes, “You are incredibly rich, Victoria, and I’ve learned while working with you that you are a wonderful person.  I sincerely believe he would be happier with you than me.  I’m little more than a simple warrior.”

Victoria smiled and took a sip of her wine, “You are far from being a simple anything and once you receive your bonus at the end of this mission, you will be rich as well.”

Desiree shook her head, “No, I will have enough credits to be comfortable but I am not in the same universe as what you have.”  Victoria sighed and Desiree’s eyebrows came together, “What’s bothering you?”

“Desiree, I’ve had a lot of time to think about this as well…and…”

Victoria stopped talking and Desiree asked, “And what?”

“I don’t believe I really love him.”

“WHAT?!  How can you not?  He’s handsome, brave, intelligent, kind…”

“I know!  It’s just…what I feel for him isn’t really love.”  Desiree sat back in her chair and stared at her as she continued, “What I feel is tremendous respect and admiration.  I know it’s not love.”

“What are you saying?”

“He and I wouldn’t make it, Desiree.”  Desiree stared at her in silence and Victoria sighed, “Leonidas has the heart of a warrior.  Once this is over, he will start carrying that Purple Card again and go out into the universe making a difference.  I don’t know if that is how I envision my life shaping up.”

“Do you intend to continue on the party train?”

“NO!  I’m more tired of this than you know.  Desiree, I just…just…”

“Love someone else.”  Victoria’s eyes came up and stared at Desiree.  Desiree’s eyes softened before saying, “I didn’t believe it at first because it was just not believable.   But I started seeing that the only time you looked half-alive was when you went to Gem’s lab.  I also thought it was crazy that an Insectoid could possibly love a human but I’ve seen that he genuinely loved the first Victoria.  It’s not so far out there that she didn’t love him as well.  If she did, it’s also not out of the realm that you could too.”

“I’m acting insane, aren’t I?”

Desiree shrugged, “Love is something that makes us do some pretty crazy things.  Are you going to tell him?”

“I honestly don’t know but I pray that this mission never ends.  When it does, I’m going to lose him.”

“I’m so sorry, Victoria.”

“Don’t be.  I’ll treasure this moment in time for the rest of my life.”

Desiree’s communicator vibrated and she lifted it, “What’s up, Jack.”

“I’ve received a message from the Thermopylae, Leonidas has called for us to come to Tortuga.”

Desiree’s eyes went wide open and she jumped up, “Notify all the crewmen on the planet to get to the shuttles now!  Get the ship ready to boost when we arrive on board!”   Desiree looked at Victoria, “Leonidas has called for us to go to Tortuga!”  Victoria jumped up and ran out of the tavern behind Desiree.

They arrived on the bridge and Desiree looked at Jack, “What’s going on!?”

“I don’t know, Captain.  The message said we should go to Tortuga and move to the planet without stirring up suspicions.”

Desiree lifted her communicator, “We are boosting to full speed in ten seconds.  Brace yourselves and go to battle stations.”  Most of the crew was already at their consoles as the arriving shore party sprinted to their positions.  The Play Toy boosted away from the planet at high speed and entered the filament.  Tortuga was three hours away and Victoria looked at Desiree and saw her fear, “He’s going to be ok, Desiree.  If this was an extreme emergency, he wouldn’t have told us to move in slowly.”  Desiree nodded and prayed she was right.  There were at least sixteen thousand reasons to be frightened and those warships were going to be waiting at Tortuga when they arrived.  Gem arrived on the bridge and went and stood behind Victoria’s chair.  He put a hand on Victoria’s shoulder and Desiree saw Victoria relax.  It just wasn’t fair that their feelings would have to go unspoken.  Desiree blew out a hard breath and stared at the tactical monitor.

• • •

The Play Toy went through the intersection and headed toward Tortuga at maximum speed.  They were two hours out from the planet when they heard over the loud speaker, “This is Tortuga Traffic Control.”

“Sir, we have ten warships moving our way on the filament.”

“Answer them, Jack!”

“This is the Play Toy and we are headed to Tortuga.”

They immediately heard over the loud speaker, “Attention all defense ships, this ship is a registered vessel.  Go back to your designated parking coordinates.”  Everyone on the bridge looked at each other as the Traffic Controller said, “You will reduce your speed two thirds and I’m sending you parking coordinates above the planet.  Please park there and welcome to Tortuga, Play Toy.”

Victoria looked at Desiree, “What’s going on?”

“I have no idea.  Billy, contact Leonidas.”

Desiree waited and a few moments later, Leo appeared on the display, “What is going on!!” Desiree demanded in a loud voice.

Leo smiled, “A lot has happened since my arrival here and I’ve registered the Play Toy as one of my ships.  If you’re questioned when you arrive, tell whoever asks that you are a ship in the Spartan Fleet.”

“Spartan Fleet?”

Leonidas shrugged, “We had to name it something.  I am now commanding eight pirate ships including the Play Toy and Thermopylae.  I’ll explain everything when you arrive.  I want you here to attend a meeting I’m having in three hours.  I’m sending you coordinates to take a shuttle down to the planet and I want you to bring Gem with you when you come.”

“Leo…”

“Desiree, it will have to wait.  Get here as quickly as you can.”

The display went dark and Gem said, “Something has him bothered but it does not appear he is in any danger.”

Jack snickered and Desiree looked at him, “What’s so funny?”

Jack shook his head, “Leonidas can fall into a giant pile of Elephant dung and come out smelling like a rose.”

Desiree stared at him and after a moment smiled, “You’re right.  That’s why we all thought he was our good-luck charm.”

Desiree looked at her console and saw the ship’s speed.  She turned to Jack with a raised eyebrow, “Sir, I’m boosting the ship on the edge of the limit set by Traffic Control.  We can’t move faster without violating the statutes.”

Victoria stood up, “I’m going to get out of this party dress and change into a less formal attire.”  She looked at Desiree and Desiree sighed, “Jack, you have the ship.”  Gem sat down in one of the command chairs and Jack asked him, “What do you think is going on?”

“I really don’t know.  I guess this calls for patience.”

• • •

The Play Toy arrived in orbit and was escorted to their parking position by two Tortugan Vessels.  The process consumed a lot of time and by the time the shuttle left the landing bay, they knew Leonidas’ meeting had started.  The shuttle circled down to the planet and Victoria said, “This is really a beautiful city.”

Gem clacked, “What were you expecting?”

“I don’t know.  I guess I expected things to be dirty or ugly in appearance.  I did not expect this beautiful well maintained city.”

They moved toward the surface and the shuttle landed in a clear space outside three tall buildings located on a river that flowed through the center of the city.  Barney was waiting for them and said, “The meeting has started and Leonidas asked me to take you directly there.”

Desiree, Gem, Victoria and the rest of the bridge crew followed Barney into the building.  “What is this place, Barney?”

“This is our quarters on Tortuga, My Lady.”

Victoria looked around and said, “Nice digs.”

“We also rent the two buildings adjacent to this one.”

Jack smiled, “I told you…smelling like a rose.”

They entered the room and saw Leonidas sitting at a table.  They moved quickly to the front of the room and Victoria stopped in her tracks when she saw John Blakely stand up with Leonidas to greet them, “WHAT IS HE DOING HERE!?!”

Leonidas’ eyes narrowed and he said, “Because I invited him and you will show him the respect one of my guests deserves!”  He pointed to some chairs next to his and said, “Take a seat and behave!!”

Desiree put her hand on Victoria’s arm and shook her head.  Victoria went to a chair and sat down glaring at the tall pirate sitting across from her.

• • •

Desiree looked at Leonidas and said, “What is this all about?”

Leonidas looked at her and turned to Blakely, “Before I get into what we’ve been discussing, I want all of you to know that Captain Blakely is the leader of the Government here and is due the respect that a Head-of-State should be given.  Captain Blakely, will you please tell them about your attack on the Starliner Victoria and I were on when we first saw you.”

Blakely turned and looked at the recent arrivals, “I received a communication from Romania offering me a contract to attack a particular unarmed Starliner.  I wasn’t really interested in taking my ships that far to attack a single ship but the offer was for six million credits to take possession of what the ship was transporting.”

Leo nodded, “Go on.”

“I accepted the contract but when I received it, I saw that there were several other requirements for me to perform to receive my payment.”  Blakely paused and said, “I honestly thought I was being contracted by Romanov Industries.”

Desiree tilted her head, “What made you think that?”

“The communication originated from Romania and we pinpointed its general location as coming from the capital of the planet.  That’s where Romanov Industries’ Headquarters is located.  I was unable to determine just who was making the contact and whoever it was went to great pains to insure I wouldn’t find out.  The payment was sent to a bank on Tortuga and I verified the funds were in an account there before I left to make the attack.”

Jack looked at Blakely, “What additional things were added to the contract?”

“I was directed to kill four passengers on the Starliner.  I was told to do it under the guise of forcing Serge Romanov to reveal the code to the Starliner’s safe.  I was further directed to take the contents of the safe unopened and deliver them to a vessel waiting at the intersection to Romania.  That ship was described as bearing the Romanov Crescent and would be waiting for my arrival.”

Victoria asked, “Who were you directed to kill?”

“That’s why I really thought I was being hired by Romanov Industries.  I was told to not harm Serge Romanov but to kill his wife, two daughters, and a baby belonging to one of the daughters.”

“Why didn’t you do it?” Victoria asked with some venom in her voice.

“I never anticipated that Serge would kill himself.  I mean it made no sense that he would hire me to remove his family while being ordered to make sure he wasn’t harmed.  Once he killed himself, I failed completing the conditions of the contract and lost what I was to be paid.”  Blakely stared at Victoria, “Contrary to what you may think, I do not enjoy or like killing anyone.  Once the conditions of the contract were violated, I chose not to kill Romanov’s family.  There was no reason to do it and I was thankful that I was spared having to kill an infant.”

“But you would have done it!”

Blakely shrugged, “I do a lot of unsavory things to fulfill contracts.  I suspect the ones in this room have killed many times fulfilling their contracts as mercenaries.  However, my contract was void and I chose to avoid unnecessary killing.”

Desiree looked at Blakely, “What happened then?”

“I left the Starliner and received another communication from Romania.  I was offered ten million credits to attack the Round Table Convoy that was going to meet the Starliner on Kellinger and stop delivery of the safe’s contents.”

“Did they offer for you to keep the contents,” Embree asked.

Blakely looked at him and smiled, “Actually, they didn’t.”

Victoria’s eyes went wide, “What?”

“They said I would be paid if I could stop the convoy’s delivery.  I asked about trying to take the safe’s contents and they said fine if I could pull it off but it would be easier to just destroy it with the convoy.  I was forced to agree with them.  However, I still took the contents assuming it was well worth the risk.  However, the only thing in the box was the dead body of who I thought was Serge Romanov.”

Victoria was confused.  Why would the one who ordered the attack not care about eight trillion credits worth of Trillium?  Leo looked at her and said, “I suspect that whoever ordered the attack was not aware of what was in the safe.”

Blakely looked at him, “What was in the safe?”

Victoria said, “Trillium worth eight trillion credits.”

Blakely’s eye flew wide open, “Are you serious?!”

“Yes, I had it moved via the funeral vehicle to the Treasury.”

Blakely tilted his head and shook it, “Well, I can tell you that whoever made the contract didn’t know it was there.  They really didn’t care if I took it or not.”

Victoria looked at Leonidas, “Why was a contract taken to attack our Starliner?”

“You still don’t see it, do you?” Leonidas asked.

Desiree quietly said, “The entire purpose of the attack was to kill you, your sister, her baby and anyone else that knew about who you really were.  You were the target of that contract.”

Leonidas nodded and Victoria turned to him, “Who would want that?”

Leonidas sighed, “The answer lies in the original contract before the changes were made.  It was someone that did not want Serge to be harmed.  I’m sure after the Starliner was attacked and before it arrived on Kellinger, they learned that the real Serge was not killed.  They ordered the Convoy attacked because they believed you, your sister, and her baby would be traveling with it to the Treasury.”

Blakely nodded, “I was asked when I was contacted again if I had killed you and your sister.  I told them no; that the contract was voided when Serge committed suicide.  That’s when the second offer was made.  I made sure that the payment would be made regardless of the outcome and the funds were waiting on my return to Tortuga.”

Leonidas looked at Blakely, “Tell her about what happened afterwards.”

Blakely looked at Victoria, “I sent a message on the frequency that was used to make the contracts and told them I wasn’t happy that I wasn’t paid for the initial attack on the Starliner.  I was told to shut up and that if I needed to be convinced who really held the power they would be glad to demonstrate it to me.  The frequency went dead and no longer functioned after that contact.”

Victoria looked at Leonidas, “I’m so confused that I can’t think clearly.  I’m sitting here with the man who killed Lyla and the man I was married to and now I see that he was carrying out the orders of someone who knew me.  Who did this, Leo?”

“Who is the only one that would benefit from your death, Victoria?”

Victoria stared at him and then it hit her, “It has to be one of Serge’s biological children.”

Desiree nodded, “If Serge died and had not openly recognized his biological children his will could be contested.  You and your sister would be recognized as adopted children and the courts would give you the same thing his biological children receive.  They have to remove you to take everything before they could kill Serge.

Blakely shrugged, “That would have to mean that Serge does not currently have a registered will.”

Leonidas nodded, “The entire reason he bought two infants to impersonate being his children was to prevent kidnappers from using them to extort money from him.  If he registered a will, then his real children would become targets.”

Victoria looked at Blakely, “I guess I should thank you for not killing me and my sister.”

Blakely shrugged again, “I know this sounds callous but it was just business.  I would have done it but for the twin Serge killing himself.”

Victoria nodded, “You could have still done it and pressed to be paid.  Thank you.”

“I don’t deserve your thanks.  But I do appreciate your saying it.”

Gem looked at Leonidas, “Why did we go through this?”

“Because I’ve told Captain Blakely that I’ve been hired to capture him and send him to the Romanovs via the box on my shuttle.  He brought up some points that I’ve been struggling with and allowed me to clarify what has been eating at my subconscious ever sense I learned about that teleportation box.”

“What is that?”

“I should thank Embree for mentioning it first.  He suggested that the Romanovs could just as easily teleport a bomb into my ship instead of the credits.  That’s why I had it put on a shuttle.  But the question was a valid one.  Captain Blakely asked me how someone could use this technology to gain power.  Then I saw what has been eluding me.”

Gem looked at him, “What were you missing?”

Leo looked at him, “What would happen if the Unity Government along with the Insectoid Planets were blown out of existence?  Who would benefit from that happening?”

The room was shocked into silence.  Victoria saw it first, “If the Unity and Insectoids were eliminated, the only one still possessing a fleet capable of taking control would be Romanov Industries.  In the mayhem that followed the Romanovs would make trillions taking advantage of the void.”

“And they would insist on being paid in valuable metals and Serge would become the de facto ruler of this galaxy,” Leonidas added.

“Do you think he’s actually doing this?” Gem asked Leo.

Leonidas turned and looked at Gold, who had just entered the room, “What did you find out?”

“We’ve detected the receiving frequency of that box on the shuttle at more than a hundred places on our planet.”

Gem stood up as Leonidas said, “He has the means of teleporting nuclear bombs to your major population centers and I suspect that if you start checking your ships you’ll find many of them are also giving off that frequency.”

“HOW COULD THAT HAVE HAPPENED?!”  Gem demanded loudly.

Leonidas looked at Gem, “Romanov Industries is the largest manufacturer of advanced electronic parts.  It would only take less than a tenth of a gram of Trillium to cause a blast larger than a hundred million tons of explosives.”

“But we would detect it if it were on our ships or planet.”

“That’s just it, Gem.  It’s not there yet but the means of receiving it is.  It will arrive on your planets and ships when it is teleported to the receiving container a moment before it is detonated.”

“We’ve got to stop this now!!” Gem insisted.

Leonidas looked at Gold, “Did the device you took with you operate?”

“It did appear to block the frequency.”

Gem looked at Leonidas, “What device are talking about?”

“I discussed this issue with Embree and I’m going to let him explain what he made.”

Embree looked around the gathering and said, “The teleportation module uses two frequencies to operate.  One of them sends items out and another receives the items being sent.  One of those two frequencies is always present around it.  I think that if the box is hit with a powerful frequency that only sends items out and it is strong enough, it would block the receiving frequency from being used.  I made a device that sends out the send frequency at high power and it stopped the receive frequency from being detected around the box in our shuttle.”

“What will happen if something is sent to the box while the receive frequency is being blocked.”  Every one stared at Embree and he continued, “When the Romanov Engineers were installing the box, they insisted that the red button had to be pressed before it would receive anything.  They made a point of emphasizing it and I really believe that is the Achilles heel of this device.  It can be blocked with a powerful send frequency.”

Gem looked at Gold, “What is being done!?”

“We’re mass producing devices that emit the Send Frequency and putting them around everything that is emitting the Receive Frequency.  We’re then going into the devices where those modules are locating and removing them as quickly as possible.”

“What if Romanov decides to do this now?”

“I’m doing something to delay him, Gem” Leo answered.

“And what is that?”

“I’ve contacted him and told him that I’m close to capturing Captain Blakely and that he should know soon who the Spider is operating inside his organization.  I believe he wants that information before he tries this.”

“Why!?”

Leonidas smiled, “Because he doesn’t know if this individual has access to the teleportation modules and may have one set up to eliminate him.  He’ll want to remove that possibility before he takes the next step.”

Victoria looked at Leo, “How can you be certain he intends to do this?”

“Actually, you provided the biggest clue.”

Victoria’s eyes narrowed and she tilted her head, “I don’t know what you mean.”

“I went through your purse while you were taking the bath in the hotel.”  Victoria lowered her eyes and Leo shrugged, “I found some credit bills in your purse that weren’t made by the Unity.”

“You’re talking about the credit notes that are used inside Romanov’s business to purchase items at a discount.”

“I was amazed at how detailed they were.  They’re actually more detailed than Unity Credits and I wondered why Romanov would go to the expense of printing credits that detailed just to use in his business.”

Desiree said, “He’s printing the currency that will replace the Unity Credits once the Unity is eliminated.”

Leonidas nodded, “Exactly right.  If I needed any other proof, the existence of all those receivers on the Insectoid Planets makes it pretty clear he is setting up a general house cleaning of all the possible adversaries he might have to face when he takes control.”

“What about here?  There are thousands of warships here!” Victoria snapped back.

Blakely sighed, “We’ve found thousands of those receivers on the planet and on most of our ships.”

“What are you going to do about it?”

Blakely sighed, “I believe I am going to have to allow Leonidas to send me to Serge Romanov and inform them that his planet is filled with those devices to eliminate him so one of his children can take his place in controlling the galaxy.  That would force him to start a search to find those devices and would buy enough time to produce the blocking devices we need to protect ourselves.”

Victoria stared at him and said, “He’ll kill you in the worst possible way imaginable.”

“I realize that.”

Victoria stared at the tall pirate and started shaking her head, “Leo, there has to be another way.”

Blakely’s cocked his head to the side, “Hey, I thought you wanted me dead!”

“That was before I saw that you’re not what I thought.  Why would you do this?”

“Because what we have here in Fellowship is worth saving.  It’s worth my life to insure it survives.”

“But they’ll strip your mind down to bare neurons and extract what you know about their plan.”

“I have a device inside me that I’ll use to kill me before that happens.”  Blakely looked at the four beings sitting beside him at the table as he said, “The other Councilors will take my place and do everything possible to stop this from happening here on Tortuga.  However, there is no saving the Unity.”

“Why not?!” Desiree responded.

Leonidas shook his head, “I sent one of my ships to Cruet and the receive frequency was detected covering everything on all the continents.  Even the ships in orbit had it.  I suspect Serge made sure of the Unity’s demise before he moved on any other possible adversary.  There’s no way to block that many devices without alerting Romanov.  He’ll immediately start sending the Trillium the moment he suspects his plan has been revealed.”

Victoria fell back in her chair, “He’s a monster.  I should have killed him when I had the chance.”

“If you did, you would have died with him and the Spider in his organization would have come out and carried out his plan.  You would have accomplished nothing,” Desiree replied shaking her head.  She turned to Leo, “What happens now?”

Leo looked at Desiree, “We anticipate that it is going to take three weeks to build enough devices to remove the threat from the Insectoid Planets and Tortuga.  I believe that Romanov is going to move quickly so I’m telling him that I will be delivering Captain Blakely in twelve days.  I’m hoping that it will take enough time for them to break him to allow us to complete the protection of our planets.”

Victoria looked at them and said, “I know a better way to do this.”  Everyone in the room looked at her and she said, “Tell him that you know where I am and will bring me to him in three weeks.”

Gem said, “That is not going to happen!!”

Victoria looked at him and turned to Leo, “Give him something he really wants.”

Leo shook his head, “But…”

“Leo, Captain Blakely is needed much more than I am.  You know I’m right.”

Desiree shook her head, “I have a better idea.”

“What is that?”

“Give Romanov a choice on which one he wants.  Tell him you have befriended Blakely and have learned he communicates with the one inside his organization on a regular basis and he knows where his daughter is being hidden.  Tell him that you can go and retrieve her but that if anyone else she doesn’t know goes, they’ll probably lose her.  If he wants you to send Blakely, she’ll probably be warned about his capture and she’ll leave for another sanctuary.  Tell him that you are required to remain on Tortuga until the official welcoming is completed in two weeks but that you can then go and take her.  Tell him it will take about a week to get to the galaxy she’s hiding in and capture her, so if he wants her, it will take about three weeks.  Offer him the choice.  Also tell him that if he wants Blakely, it will have to be done after the official welcome has been done.  That will buy you at least two weeks and possibly three.  If he chooses for you to send his daughter,” Desiree smiled, “after three weeks, you won’t need to send anyone.”

Victoria looked at Desiree, “And what do we tell him at the end of three weeks?”

Desiree shrugged, “One of your crew will contact Romanov and tell him that you were executed for being a spy.  At that point, either Serge will launch his attacks or delay for a while longer.  Hell, he may even try to hire someone else to come after Blakely, which will really buy us some time.”

Blakely stared at Desiree and started smiling as he turned to Leo, “I like the way she thinks!”

“Captain, if you are required to remain here until this so called welcoming is completed, someone else will have to deliver the message,” Embree said.

Leo looked at him, “Make it convincing.  Also ask for a higher reward if we’re able to deliver his daughter.”

“Uhhh…you want me to do this?”

“Of course.”

Embree shrugged, “Ok.”

“Take the shuttle when you go.”

“I don’t like that idea.  He could send a bomb through.”

“Not if you’re persuasive enough.  Just make sure the green button is pushed,” Leo replied.

Embree sighed, “Yes, Captain.”

Chapter Twenty

It was late in the evening ship’s time and Victoria walked down the corridor to Gem’s quarters and pressed the button on the wall.  A moment later, she heard a click and she opened the door.  She saw Gem sitting at a table staring at a computer screen and she said, “Do you have a few minutes?”

“Sure, what’s on your mind?

Victoria walked in and pulled up a chair suitable for humans across the table from Gem, “I’ve been bothered by something and I need you to be honest with me.”

Gem clacked and said mockingly, “Whatever do you mean, Dahlin?”

“Gem, I’m serious.”  Gem just stared at her in silence and Victoria said, “The real Victoria never acted as dumb as I have, did she?”

Gem’s thorax swelled and he tilted his head left, “No, she didn’t.”

“You must find my behavior appalling?”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because I know, in your own way, you loved her.”

“She could play stupid with the best of them, Victoria.  But she was far from dumb.  She was witty and her heart was full of warmth and good will for everyone she met.”

“I need to know why you loved her.”

“I just told you.”

“No, you didn’t.  You told me how she treated everyone.  You didn’t tell me how she treated you.”  Gem was silent and Victoria waited.  After a few minutes passed she said, “I believe she loved you as well.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because love one way is no love at all.”  Gem was silent again and Victoria sighed before continuing, “I must admit that initially, I was quite put off by your appearance but after a while, I didn’t seem to notice it and I started getting to know you for who you are.  I’m greatly impressed by what I see and I know the other Victoria must have seen it as well.  Did she see it, Gem?”

Gem lowered his head and twisted it to the left again, “She did.”

“And you chose to come here with me because of your love for her.”

Gem raised his head and, after a long pause, said, “Yes.  That was the reason, initially.”

“And what is the reason now?”

“I’d rather not say.”

“Gem, I need you to tell me!”

“Why?”

“Because I find myself falling in love with you and need to know if this is hopeless.”

“You can’t do that!”

“You could.”

“But that was then, this is now.”

“What about now?”

Gem shook his head and blew out a puff of air from the vents along his thorax, “I made a mistake with Victoria and it’s taken me this long to realize it.”

“What mistake was that?”

“I was mystified by how human males were struck stupid whenever she was present.  I just couldn’t fathom their behavior.  It made no sense and really appeared to be nonsense.  I talked with Leonidas about this and he told me that humans work differently from my species.  It was something that couldn’t be explained to a non-human.”

“What did you do?”

“I injected some human DNA into my reproductive system.”

Victoria’s eyes flew wide open, “YOU DID WHAT?”

“It was crazy.  I know now that I had to be insane at the time to even consider it, much less do it.   However, it did clear up all the misunderstandings about why human males were all ga-ga for her.”

“Gem, what were you thinking?”

“That’s just it, Victoria, I wasn’t thinking.  I have a life ahead of me where I will rule my planet and be bound to the planet for the rest of my existence.  That future nearly drove me crazy; I didn’t want to do it and had considered suicide to avoid it.  Injecting that DNA wasn’t as bad as thoughts about killing myself…but they were close.”

Victoria stared at him shaking her head before saying, “So now you’re in an alien body desiring a human female and can do nothing about it.”

Gem twisted his head from left to right, “Something like that.  However, I found out afterwards that any human female attracted me sexually but none of them came close to how I felt about Victoria.  Her soul was the purest I’ve ever encountered in all of my travels.”

“Did you tell her?”

“She confronted me just like you are now.  I told her and the next eight months were the happiest I’ve ever been.  But I was called back to my world to meet with my mother and once the meeting was over I rushed away to join Victoria.  I arrived in time to see her ship destroyed by a star going nova.”

“I’m so sorry!”

“Don’t be.  It’s forced me to return to reality.  I know I have to accept my fate.”

“Gem, you said you initially chose to be here because of your feelings.  Has something changed?”  Gem stared at her and Victoria finally said, “I need to know, Gem!”

“I know you’re not the real Victoria.  Even though you look just like her, you are not her.  But…I find that I feel the same way I did with her every time I look at you.  You are…remarkable.”

Victoria came around the table and wrapped her arms around Gem’s body.  “We don’t have long but I want to spend as much time as I can with you.”

“Ana, this is not something we can give in to.”

“We’ll keep it between us.  But I do love you, Gem.”

Gem blew out another breath and tenderly wrapped his upper arms around her.  He realized he had made a mistake and now he was going to pay a heavy price for it.

• • •

Desiree entered the room, saw Leonidas staring at his computer screen, and asked, “What’s up?”

“There were more devices here than we thought.  As ships arrive here from other locations we’re finding the frequency on them.”

“Is that going to extend the time needed to protect them?”

“No, not really.  Getting the manufacturing process online is what’s consuming most of the time.  Once the three weeks have passed, Traffic Control has agreed to prevent any ships from coming here before they can be inspected.”

“What about the rest of the planet?”

“That was a real problem initially until we demonstrated to the Tortugan Government that there were many of the modules scattered around their communities.”

“YOU TOLD THEM!!”

Leonidas chuckled, “Desiree, if you’re worried about them blowing the whistle to Romanov, you can put that concern away.  They are more close-mouthed than a sprung bear trap.  They are righteously indignant about it but you need to remember that they pretty much do what they want and ignore the consequences.  That’s why the pirates are here.  They are conducting the searches for the devices on the rest of the planet and they get madder with each one they find.  We are inspecting their commercial ships and all of them have been ordered back to the planet.  They’ll be covered before time runs out.”

“Are you sure there’s nothing that can be done to save the Unity?”

“Not without Romanov finding out.  He has more spies inside their government than there are bureaucrats.  It’s also a question of numbers.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Unity has warships scattered across this galaxy and there’s absolutely no way to get our devices to them before Serge could push the button.”

“Couldn’t you warn them after the three week deadline?”

“To what end?  Serge would immediately know and would press the button.”

“This is going to cause chaos and anarchy if the Unity is destroyed.”

“Maybe.”

Desiree’s eyes narrowed, “What do you mean by maybe?”

“We’ve sent a ship to take a look at Kellinger and there are no devices there.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!  That’s where the main Treasury is located and where all the currency is printed.”

“And where do you think Romanov has most of his hard assets stored?  Remember that he had the Trillium sent there.  He won’t blow up the main location of his wealth.  And it is pretty much a certainty that the Unity Credit Note will continue to be used in the aftermath until he can take control and replace it with his own.”

“You’re right.  Well, I thought I would check in and see how you are doing.”

She turned to leave and Leonidas said, “Desiree.”

“Yes.”

“I hope you realize that I thought that you and Mark were a couple for all the years we served in the Legion.”

“Why would you think that?”

“Because you followed him wherever he was in command.”

“Did you ever think that I was there because that was where you were?”

Leo sighed, “No, it didn’t cross my mind.”  He looked at her and after a moment said, “There were many moments where I was envious of him.”

“Why are you telling me this, Leo?”

“Because it’s stupid of me to envy someone who never had you.  I’ve missed a lot of time where you and I could have been together and I don’t want to continue doing that.”

“I thought you and Ana were…”

Leo interrupted her, “I agree that I am aware that she is interested in me.  However, you are the one that I see in my dreams.  If you’re ok with it, I would like for us to spend some personal time together getting to know each other better.”

Desiree smiled, “Was that so hard to say?”

Leo shook his head as he fell back in his chair and rolled his eyes, “You have no idea.  I’ve not been in romantic relationship my entire life, this is uncharted space to me.”

Desiree walked around the console and kissed him on the cheek.  She stepped back and smiled as she walked toward the door, “Well, you’re navigating it pretty darn well.  I look forward to it.”

She left the room and Leonidas smiled; so was he.

• • •

Embree stopped the shuttle just off the Tortuga filament and pressed his communicator.  After a few minutes, the middle aged man appeared, “Who are you?”

“I am Captain Leonidas’ Second-in-Command.”

“Why isn’t he contacting me?”

“He is forced to remain on Tortuga until the welcoming ceremony is completed.  Every new resident has to go and introduce themselves to the other pirate fleets prior to the official welcome given by the Council.  That is scheduled to take place in two weeks.”

The man’s eyes narrowed, “Why are you contacting me!”

“Because Captain Leonidas needs your input on what you want him to do.”

“What are you talking about?  I want him to send me Blakely!”

“Something else has presented itself and he wants to know if you would prefer him to send you someone else.”

“Who?”

“Romanov’s daughter.”

The man’s eyes flew wide open, “YOU HAVE HER?”

“No, but he’s learned where she is.  Leonidas has become quite close with Blakely and has learned that he is in regular contact with someone inside your organization.  He heard them talking and learned where Ana is being hidden.  He believes that he can go and take her and bring her to you.”

“Tell me where she is, we’ll go get her ourselves.”

“There are some protections around her and if anyone shows up she doesn’t trust, she would flee to another sanctuary.  He wants to offer you the choice of getting her or Blakely.  If you want Blakely, Leonidas believes he can send him to you immediately after the official welcome is completed in two weeks.  If you want Romanov’s daughter, it will take about a week to arrive at the galaxy she’s hiding in and send her to you.”

“Take Blakely and then send me the daughter.”

“Leonidas says that won’t work.  If Blakely disappears from Tortuga, it’s a certainty that they will know and move her to another location before we could arrive and take her.  Leonidas says you can have either one of them but both is not really an option.”

“What galaxy is she in?”

“There are some things Leonidas does not discuss with his crew.  I do not know where she is.  However, I know my Captain and if he says he can send you either of them, I know he believes he can do it.  Which one do you want him to focus on sending to you?”  The man stared at him and Embree said, “He also asks that the price to go and retrieve Romanov’s daughter will be higher than sending Blakely.”

The man’s eyes narrowed, “How much higher?”

“Another ten million.”

“Stand-by.”

• • •

Serge looked at his Security Chief, “Do you believe this?”

“I wouldn’t have but for the demand for a higher payment tells me that it’s probably true.  Also keep in mind that you originally chose to send him because Ana knows him and might come out in the open to meet him.”

“Which one do you think is more important to us?”

“There is a chance that Blakely doesn’t know who is working him in our organization.  However, Ana does know and she also knows where the stolen funds are located.  Ten million more is a small sum to pay for eight trillion credits.”

“So you think we should try to get Ana?”

“She is by far the better choice.”

Serge thought about it and knew that before too much longer, Unity Currency would disappear.  He was going to have to delay his plan for another three weeks but that was nothing in the large scheme of things.  “Ok.  Send them the ten million and tell them to notify me as soon as they have Ana.”

“Yes, Sir.”

• • •

Embree saw the man appear on is monitor and say, “I’m sending you the ten million credits.  Notify me as soon as you have Ana.”

Embree quickly said, “Uhhh…Sir.”

“What?”

“Could you please send the credits in boxes!?”

The man smiled and then started laughing, “Are you the one that will have to box them up?”

Embree showed his pain, “Yes and its back breaking work.  Please!”

The Chief regained his composure and said, “If I didn’t have to take them out of boxes I probably wouldn’t do it but it will actually save us some time.  Press the receive button on your module.”

“Thank you, Sir.  I’m forever indebted to you!”  The screen went dark and Embree pressed the red button.  Twenty minutes later he saw the box rock slightly.  He flew back to Tortuga and landed outside the First Bank of Tortuga.  One of the employees came out and Embree said, “Please send our representative out.”

Embree waited and the Tortugan Official came out, “Uhhh…why have you…landed your vessel in front of…my establishment.”

“I have ten million credits to deposit in Captain Leonidas’ account.  Do you have enough employees to move it inside or should I take it to another bank?”

The Officials tongue went all the way around to the back of his head, “Don’t move!”  Embree waited and an hour later the Official handed him a receipt, “Please convey my appreciation to Captain Leonidas.”

“I’ll be sure to do it.”  Embree flew the shuttle away from Tortuga and parked it away from the filament.  A small shuttle from the Thermopylae arrived and he flew it an additional thousand miles from the filament.  He boarded the small shuttle and arrived at the building where the crew was living.  He thanked the pilot for the lift and walked to Leonidas’ office where he found Blakely, Desiree, Gold, Victoria and Gem.

Leonidas looked up and said, “Embree, what did they decide?”

Embree walked over to his desk and said, “They want Romanov’s daughter.  He tossed a piece of paper on Leonidas’ desk and turned around.

“What is this?” Leo asked.

“They paid another ten million credits and I deposited it into your account at the bank.”  Embree walked out of the room and everyone stared at him as he disappeared out of the door.

Leo started shaking his head and Desiree said, “Does he get excited about anything?”

Leo smiled, “I imagine he’s giving himself a high five outside the door right now. Em does love making an entrance.”

Blakely laughed and said, “Since you were paid to capture me, shouldn’t I get some of the proceeds?”

Leonidas smiled, “Sure, how much do you want?”

Blakely stopped smiling, “Nothing, I was just kidding.”

“You are helping us make this happen, how much do you want?”

“No, really, I was just kidding.”

“Do you have a white card?”  Blakely nodded.  “Let me have it.”  Blakely pulled his account card out and Leo pressed some numbers on his card.  He put the two cards together and felt them vibrate.  He looked at Blakely and said, “I’ve transferred six million credits to your account.”

“Leonidas, you don’t have to do this.”

“Is it against the laws to bribe a Council Member for special treatment?”

Blakely chuckled, “That’s how things get done here.”

“Well, you deserve it.  Your willingness to sacrifice yourself to save all of us deserves more than that.”

Blakely smiled, “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.  Let’s get back to discussing what we’re going to do if Romanov presses the button.”

• • •

The bells in the top of the Meeting Building in the center of Fellowship began ringing and everyone in the city wondered why the Council was calling for a general meeting.  Everyone stopped what they were doing and began moving toward the arena as quickly as possible.  Traffic Control had stopped all ships from leaving orbit a week earlier and the Council was being barraged by questions from pirates that wanted to go out to plunder other ships.  This meeting would probably provide answers that Traffic Control would not provide.  It took four hours for the arena to fill and everyone wondered what was going on.  Many were also wondering why all the ships in orbit had been inspected and a device installed on board.  This was not normal and everyone was on edge.

• • •

Blakely heard over his communicator, “That’s all of them, Councilor.”

He sounded the tone and stood up.  The arena was silent as everyone waited for Blakely to speak.  Blakely lifted the microphone and said, “I know many of you are upset that you have not been allowed to leave to go about your normal business.  I also know that most of you are questioning why a device has been installed on your ships without asking permission.  I am going to tell you what’s going on and I am going to demand that what is discussed here stays here.  Is that clear?”  The room remained silent and the assembly all started looking around the room at each other.

Blakely waited a moment and then said, “Nearly every one of our vessels have been booby trapped along with most of the cities on Tortuga.”  The room exploded in shouts and Blakely waited until they died down.  He didn’t sound the tone but allowed the attendees to scream their disbelief.  Finally, the huge building grew silent.

“I know that what I’m saying sounds impossible but allow me to explain how it was done.  Romanov Industries, who manufactures most of the advanced electronics used in our galaxy, has developed a way to teleport items between a sending module and a receiving module.  The room started stirring and Blakely quickly said, “I didn’t believe it either but I have seen one of these modules in operation.  It does work!”

“THAT’S CRAZY TALK!!” a pirate in the front row yelled.  “WHAT PROOF DO YOU HAVE!?”

Blakely turned around and motioned Leonidas forward.  Leo walked up next to Blakely and was given the microphone.  “I was hired by Serge Romanov to come here and capture Captain John Blakely.”  The silence was deafening.  “Romanov installed a box on one of my shuttles large enough to put a man in and was told that if I press the green button on it, Blakely would be sent to his headquarters building.  I told Romanov he was insane and that teleportation was impossible.  He sent fifteen million Unity Credits into that box to pay for a contract to capture Captain Blakely.  All of you saw me deposit it in the bank.  The thing works.  We discovered a frequency emanating from the box that was outside the range of any communication frequency we’ve ever seen and it took a brilliant engineer to finally track it down.  The module developed by Romanov sends out this frequency constantly and wherever it can be detected, a teleportation module exists.  When we sent people out to inspect your vessels, we were looking for the presence of that frequency.  If we installed a device on your ship, a Romanov teleport module was present.  We found them in most of the ships we inspected along with more than a hundred locations on Tortuga.  More than half of the Tortugan Commercial Ships also had that frequency in them.”

“There are no devices on my ship!”

Leo looked at the Pirate Fleet Commander that yelled from the front row and he asked, “Did we install a device on your ship?” a voice shouted loudly from the balcony.

“You did!”

“This is what all of you need to understand.  The receiving module can be hidden inside a communication circuit, or a blaster coil, or the wire that is used to power any electronic circuits on your ships.  Now I know that sounds incredibly small but how much Trillium would it take to blow up your ship?”  The Fleet Commander’s eyes went wide.  Leo nodded, “It would only take a milligram to cause a massive explosion and I happen to know that Romanov has purchased eight trillion Credits worth of Trillium and probably has much more than that at his disposal.”

“Why is he after Fellowship!?” Another Pirate shouted.

Leo handed the microphone back to Blakely, “Actually, we are just a secondary consideration.  He put his modules here as an afterthought.  His main targets are the Unity and the Insectoid Planets.”  Blakely waited for that to sink in and then said, “We have taken a look at the Government Planet and every continent on Cruet is giving off that frequency.  We estimate there are more than half a million of those modules there and there is no possible way to remove them before he could detonate them.”

Geoffrey stood up and shouted, “Why should we care if the Unity and Insectoids get blasted away.  That’s no skin off our backs.”

Blakely saw hundreds around him nodding.  “Normally, I would agree with your assessment.  However, why did he put those modules on our ships and cities?”  Blakely paused as the pirates all thought about the question.  “I understand from someone that was once inside Romanov’s business that he has been building warships for more than twenty years.  If he fails to destroy us with the devices he’s planted here, we will be the first target of his fleet.  We might be able to scatter and flee where some of us will survive but Fellowship and Tortuga will be blasted into rubble.  He will then send all his ships out to hunt us down and eliminate us as a possible adversary.  He intends to take total control of this galaxy and with everyone that can oppose him removed, he will do it.”  Blakely looked around the room and then said, “I am going to give you a few minutes to discuss among yourselves what you think about this situation and I ask that the Fleet Commanders and other Leaders put your heads together to offer suggestions to the Council on how we should respond to this threat.”

Blakely sat down and the room exploded as pirates began screaming.

Chapter Twenty-One

The arena was loud for more than two hours and then the noise started to abate.  By the end of the third hour, it was silent.  Blakely stood up and lifted the microphone, “Have you come up with suggestions?”

The Hiyten Fleet Commander stood up, “We cannot.  There are too many wanting to do hundreds of different things.  We have decided to listen to what the Council would suggest.”

The Fleet Commander sat down and Blakely looked around the arena from the upper floors to the lower level directly in front of him before saying, “We believe that we are stronger together than we are alone.  I do not choose to run and wait to be attacked by Romanov ships that outnumber me.  I am also beyond rage at what he has tried to do to Fellowship.  This is my home and if anyone comes to my home and threatens me, I will do everything in my power to make them pay for it.  I will go and attack Romania, even if I have to go alone with my ships.”

Leonidas stood up and shouted, “I will be going with you, Captain!”

The Argyan Commander stood and yelled, “And we will follow our Captain!”

It started slow but more and more Commanders stood up and yelled they would fight as well.  Soon, it was a tsunami as every pirate stood and yelled their support.  The cheering started and Blakely stood at the front table and raised his arms.  The roar was incredible.  It did not slow down and only grew louder.

Then…a Tortugan walked up on the stage and looked at Blakely.  Blakely turned to him and he said, “Captain, may I address the gathering?”  Blakely’s eyes widened and he handed the microphone to the Tortugan.  The Tortugan looked out at the screaming assembly and they quickly grew silent.  He lifted the microphone and said, “We are touched that you are willing to go out and fight to save our world.  I know that we’ve taken everything we can get from you in payments for the materials you need to operate your ships.  However, we have decided that we will provide all the stores you need to carry out this venture and will not be charging you anything.  My citizens and I thank you and so deeply appreciate your willingness to place yourselves between us and the Romanov menace.”

The assembly exploded and it was more than four hours later that Blakely was able to issue the attack plans.  For the first time in Fellowship’s history, the pirates were truly united into one force.

• • •

Three weeks had passed since Embree had contacted Romanov and he sat in front of a communication screen and pressed buttons on the console in front of him.  After a few minutes, the smiling middle aged man appeared on the screen, “Do you have her!?”

“NO!  CAPTAIN LEONIDAS AND THE REST OF MY CREW HAVE BEEN EXECUTED!  SOMEONE IN YOUR ORGANIZATION CONTACTED BLAKELY AND TOLD HIM WHAT WE WERE PLANNING!”

The Chief’s eyes narrowed, “How are you still alive?”

“I’ve remained in the shuttle and the pirate ships are out looking for me.  I’m far off the filament and I know they are intercepting this transmission.  I need to speak to Serge Romanov.”

“Talk to me!”

“NO!  LEONIDAS TOLD ME IF THINGS WENT BAD TO ONLY TALK TO HIM.  HURRY!”

The Chief contacted Serge and told him what was going on.  Serge appeared on Embree’s display and asked, “What do you want?”

“Leonidas told me to tell you that when the Starliner was originally attacked, the target was not what was in the safe but Ana, her sister and baby, along with that woman named Lyla.  The pirate was ordered not to harm you.  They didn’t know it was a twin.  Who would want them killed and not want to harm you?”

Serge stared at the display as Embree asked, “Will you allow me to go in the box and transfer me to your location?”

“Do you have any more information?”

“No, that’s all Leonidas told me.”  Serge continued to stare at Embree as he pleaded, “Please!  They’re coming off the filament towards me!”

Serge lowered his eyes, “Go to the box and press the button to receive.”

“But…”

“I need to reset the box on this end before I can transport you here.”

Embree disappeared from the display and then reappeared a few moments later, “I’ve pressed it!”

Serge smiled, “You shouldn’t have failed me.”  Serge pressed a button on his panel and the shuttle went up in a massive blast.”

The Security Chief looked at Serge on his monitor, “Sir, was that necessary?  I might have been able to extract more information from him.”

“He gave all I need!”  Serge disappeared from the Chief’s display as he shook his head at what he had witnessed.

• • •

Leonidas looked at Embree, “I’m glad you were able to build that remote control arm to press the receive button.”

“Setting up the remote controls on the shuttle’s communicator was more problematic.”

Leo activated his communicator, “Did everyone see it?”

Blakely was standing on the podium in the Arena and every pirate watched the video of the shuttle being destroyed on the monitors scattered around the room.  “We did.  You need to go and take care of your end.”

“I’ll be leaving momentarily.  I’ll let you know what happens.”  Leo looked at Barney, “Take us to the coordinates I’ve given you.”

“Boosting now, Captain.”

• • •

The Spider listened to the message sent to Serge and leaned back.  That damn Leonidas had figured it out and Serge would do the same thing very quickly.  It pressed a button on the console and it disappeared behind an armored wall.  A moment later, four armed security guards blew in the front door, rushed in, and surrounded the Spider.  They grabbed it by the arms and hauled it out of the room.

The Security Chief sat in his office shaking his head at the needless death of that crewman.  Suddenly, the door to his office slammed in and two armed security guards rushed in and pointed their blasters at him.  He quickly raised his hands above his head, “WHAT’S GOING ON!?”

“Come with us!”  The guards pointed toward the door, took him to a vehicle, and then walked him up to Serge’s Office.  He was escorted into a room where he saw Serge sitting in a chair next to a large one way mirror.  He looked through the mirror and saw his wife strapped into a chair with an electrical helmet over her head, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!”

Serge looked at him and pointed to a chair twenty feet from him, “Keep him covered.”

The guards marched the Chief across the room and threw him into the chair.  One kept a blaster pointed at him while the other strapped his arms to the chair’s metal arms.  Serge nodded toward the woman being interrogated in the other room and they heard her scream in pain, “Your wife is the one that has been working against me.”  The Security Chief started shaking his head as Serge said, “She’s confirmed that you knew nothing about what she was doing.”

The Chief looked at Serge with tears in his eyes shaking his head in disbelief, “But why…why would she do it?”

“You were never told that she is my daughter.”

“WHAT?”

“I originally introduced the two of you and told her that she should convince you to marry her so I could make sure she was safe from any possible kidnappers.  She got greedy and began plotting to take the business from me before I died.  But first, she had to eliminate Ana and her family before she could get rid of me.  If I died before them, they would be given most of my holdings in any court, since I do not have a will.  She’s waited in hopes I would find Ana and remove her.  She already had plans in the works to kill the sister and baby.”  The Chief stared at his wife in the other room screaming in pain.  “I’ve wondered how the one working inside my organization seemed to know everything that was going on.  We changed our frequencies multiple times and it didn’t stop her.  Now I understand why.  Every time you went home she would examine your communicator and take the new frequency from it.”

The Chief immediately remembered how whenever he went home his wife would take his dirty clothes to wash them and offer to put his communicator on the table while he showered.  He stared at the mirror and said, “Tell them to ask her if she loved me.”

“Do you really want to know?”

“ASK HER!”

Serge sighed and lifted his communicator.  He spoke into it and turned the volume up.  One of the technicians inside the room asked, “Did you love your husband?”

She screamed and yelled, “That pig came from my father!  I wasn’t given a choice!”  She screamed again and sneered, “Everything my father touches turns to…”

Serge turned the volume down and looked at the Chief, “I’m sorry you had to hear that.”

The chief lowered his head into his chest and wept.  Serge looked at the guards, “Take him back to his office and wait there.”  The guards nodded and released him from the chair.  He stumbled out of the room and went back to his office where he broke down.  The guards moved outside the door and waited.

Serge shook his head and his communicator beeped, “Sir, the President has left the planet for a meeting.”

“When will he be back?”

“He didn’t say.”

“Thank you for letting me know.  Inform me when he comes back.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“You will find a reward in your account.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

• • •

The Thermopylae arrived at the specified coordinates and Leonidas ordered, “Wait here.”

An hour later, a giant Unity Battleship came in off the filament and moved toward the Thermopylae.  A shuttle left the battleship and headed toward the landing bay.  Leo stood up, “Desiree, you have the ship, Embree, come with me.”

They arrived in the landing bay and saw Victoria waiting as the shuttle settled to the deck and the port opened.  A tall distinguished man walked out and headed toward Leonidas, “What’s so important that you told my assistant this meeting is critical?”

“It’s good to see you again Mr. President.  If you will follow me to my conference room, I’ll explain.”

Ninety minutes later, the President stared at Leonidas and started shaking his head, “We have to remove those devices.”

“You can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because Romanov will immediately know and detonate them.”

“But…”

Leonidas interrupted him and said, “Embree!”

Embree lifted his communicator and the President heard, “Sir, the President has left the planet for a meeting.”

“When will he be back?”

“He didn’t say.”

“Thank you for letting me know.  Inform me when he comes back.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“You will find a reward in your account.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

• • •

The President was silent and Embree said, “That conversation was one of fifty sent to Romanov informing him of your absence from the government.”

“WHAT?!”

Leonidas looked at him, “If you order a search for those modules, Romanov will immediately know.  Your government is saturated with his spies and there is no possible way for you do anything about those modules without him knowing it.”

“How many devices are on the planet?”

“More than half a million and I’m pretty certain all of them are operated by one button.”

“What if we destroy Romania before he could push the button?”

“That’s not possible, Mr. President.  He would know the moment one of your fleets moved on the Romanian filament.  You should also be aware that most all of your warships have those devices on board.  They’ll never get close to Romania before they’re destroyed.”

“What can I do?”

Leo sighed heavily, “I don’t know anything you can do.  I don’t think he will activate the devices until you show back up at the Government Building.  But he won’t wait forever for that to happen.”

“He’s planning to kill billions of beings if he goes through with this.”

Leo shrugged, “His craving for ultimate power outweighs any conscience he might have.  He’s probably planning to feign shock and demand that the one who did it be found and killed.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“How will anyone know it was him?  He blew up one of my shuttles to prevent anyone outside of his organization knowing about the devices.  He was told that everyone on my crew was executed on Tortuga so he believes he’s in the clear now.  He can destroy the Unity and no one will be the wiser that it was him that did it.”

“I’ll know.”

Leonidas turned to Victoria, “Yes, and he’s doing everything in his power to find you.”

The President looked at Victoria, “How do you know?”

“I’m his adopted daughter.”

“Adopted?”

“My sister and I were bought as babies to pass off as his children against kidnappers that might try to extort a ransom from him.”

“This man is a devil!” the President sneered.

“He has no soul!” Victoria agreed.

The President turned to Leonidas, “There’s nothing I can do to save the Unity.”

“No, Mr. President, there isn’t.”

“Then why did you want this meeting?”

“There’s nothing we can do to stop it but we can make sure all the planets in this galaxy learns about it.  Serge thinks that he will smoothly move in and take control with all the former planets in the Unity welcoming his help in bringing back order.”

“That’s not much.”

“It’s probably more than you know.  If all the former planets refuse to trade with Romanov after he does this, he may deny the whole thing and do nothing while you attempt to remove the teleport modules.”

The President looked at Victoria, “Do you think he’ll do that?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because the Unity has stood in his way of creating a monopoly and he figures it won’t matter.  I’ve seen his books and there are trillions of credits that appear to have just disappeared.  I now believe that he has been building warships against the day he destroyed all his possible adversaries.  He will use those ships to force the inhabited planets to accept him as their ruler.”  Victoria hesitated and said, “Sort of like what the Unity has done.”

“Child, we brought peace to the galaxy!”

“By forcing your rule on most of the inhabited planets against their wills.  There’s no certainty that the galaxy will mourn your loss and Serge is banking on that.”

The President looked at Leonidas and he sighed, “She’s right, Mr. President.  If Serge was certain that the other planets would not accept his actions, he might hesitate.  I wouldn’t put it past him to have already contacted his major trading partners and asked about how they feel about being ruled by the Unity.  I suspect he will give them a role in the new order.”

“He’ll just send those devices to every inhabited planet and hold them hostage against being destroyed,” the President snapped back.

“I suspect they are located on just about every planet that uses Romanov Industries Electronic Components,” Leonidas agreed.

The President sighed, “That’s just about all of them.”

“Mr. President, I asked for this meeting to let you know what’s going on.  I don’t believe anything can be done to prevent what’s going to happen but I owe you for your courtesy to me and I just couldn’t not tell you.”

“What are you going to do?” the President asked.

“I’m going to do what you intended for me to do when you gave me a Purple Card.”  The President stared at Leonidas and he said, “I intend to make Serge Romanov pay for his actions.”

“Do you think you can do it?”

“I’m going to make the effort, Sir.”

The President stood up and extended his hand, “Thank you for your honesty and I pray you do make him pay.”

Victoria asked the President and said, “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to blow the whistle on Serge Romanov so those that are in the unity know what kind of viper he is.”

“That will probably cause him to act.” Leo replied.

“He’ll act either way.  At least I can make things difficult for him.”  Embree stood and led the President back to the landing bay.

“Have you heard from Gem?” Leo asked Gold.

“I have.”

“And.”

“The Insectoids choose to stay out of this and allow as many planets as possible to destroy themselves.  They don’t care about any species but their own.”

Leonidas sighed.  He took a deep breath and blew it out, “Well, let’s get moving.  It won’t be long.”

• • •

Gem looked at his mother on the display, “Mother, I beg you to reconsider your position.  The Unity will be destroyed soon and we need your help in confronting the forces that did it.  If the humans had not warned you about the explosive devices on our planets, our worlds would cease to exist.  They deserve our assistance.”

“It’s because a human placed those devices on our planets that we were endangered in the first place.  We’ll watch them die and celebrate the death of all of them.  You are ordered to come home!”

Gem stared at his mother and slowly turned his head right, “I cannot do that, now.”

“You will do as I order you!” she demanded.

“Mother, I would rather die acting honorably than rule in dishonor.  I have never been more ashamed of my people than I am right now.  For the first time in my life, I am shamed by a total lack of gratitude for those that saved us from total destruction.  What if they chose to act like you?  I choose to die among beings that know the meaning of honor.  I renounce my title and my standing among my people.”

“But…”  Gem ended the contact and the display went dark.  He went to the bridge of the Play Toy and said, “Jack, take us to the assembly coordinates.”

“She still won’t help us?”

“No, she will not.  I’ve given it my best effort but she just doesn’t understand that not all humans are like Romanov.  She hasn’t gone out and seen the universe and is prejudiced by only knowing our species.  She paints all humans with the same brush.”

Gem sat down in the Command Chair and knew the Pirates were going to be outnumbered by Romanov’s fleets and, with the destruction of the Unity’s warships and his species staying out of it, the outcome looked dark.  He wanted Victoria back on board to enjoy the last moments of their lives.  His communicator vibrated and Gold appeared on the display, “Majesty?

“She will not participate in what’s happening.  You should take a shuttle and go home.”

Gold jerked his head right, “My place is here, Majesty.  There may have been a time when I first came on board this ship that I would have turned my back on this crew.  But I cannot do that now.  I’ve seen their honor and I will not desert them.”

“What do you intend to do?”

“I will take one of the weapon consoles on the Thermopylae and do all I can to destroy as many Romanov vessels as possible.”

“You know we’re going to be heavily outnumbered.”

“I do.  But like Leonidas said when he was fighting the Condon, what would be the fun in fighting a weaker opponent.  When you go back, you should continue to persuade her to help us.”

“I will not be going back!” Gem replied forcefully.

“But Majesty, you’re next in the succession!!”

“I have renounced my title and standing among my people.  I will fight with my crew and at least die with honor.”

Gold stared at him and clacked softly, “I never would have thought that we would arrive at this point when I agreed to go with this ship.  But I understand why you can’t go back.  I still honor you and thank you for inviting me to take part in this enterprise.”

Gem turned his head left, “I’m proud of you.”

“This is worth dying for, Majesty.”

“Yes, it is.” Gem clacked a chuckle, “Get prepared quickly, I don’t think we have much time before Romanov acts.”

“Good-luck, Majesty.”

“The same to you.”

Gem looked at Jack, “You have the ship.”  Jack nodded and Gem went to his quarters and prepared the bath.

• • •

“Leonidas.”

“Yes, Desiree.”

“I will be staying on the Thermopylae.”

Leo looked at her, glanced at Victoria, and said, “The Play Toy needs you to command it.”

Victoria spoke before Desiree could answer, “Gem is going to command the ship.  Jack will pilot it and you know he’s one of the best pilots we have.  We’ll be ok.”

“The Thermopylae and Play Toy are the most powerful ships in the Pirate’s Fleet.  They are going to have to take on the head of the Romanov spear,” Leonidas said shaking his head.  I’m not sure this is a good idea, Victoria.

“I know.  But we can handle our end; you know how brilliant Gem is.  The two of you should be together for what time remains.  My crew and ship is ready for what’s coming.”

Leonidas smiled and said, “It’s been a real pleasure working with you, Victoria.”

“I wouldn’t be alive except for your and Desiree’s taking care of me.  Desiree walked over to Victoria and hugged her.  I’m sorry about your sister and nephew.”

“I’m surprised Serge waited this long to kill them.  Kenny sent word to Tortuga that she was murdered yesterday.  Now, I’m an orphan and alone.”

Leonidas shook his head, “No, you’re not.  Kenny is your biological father.  He’s been watching over you for years.  Serge forbid him from telling you.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.  His wife left him and disappeared.  She sold you to Romanov.  Kenny found out and took the position on Kellinger to have the opportunity to occasionally see you.  I’m sure his heart is also broken over the death of your sister and his grandson.”

Victoria lowered her eyes and sighed, “That’s how you knew he wouldn’t tell Serge that you were the one with me at the bank when we delivered the Trillium.”  Leonidas nodded.  “Well, thanks for telling me. I’m headed to the landing bay to take a shuttle back to my ship.  I suspect the Unity President will be making an announcement shortly.”

Leo stood up and hugged her, “I admire you, Ana.  You’ve grown so much since I first met you and have become such a strong and beautiful woman.”  Ana returned his hug and then turned and left the bridge.  Leo watched her go and looked at Desiree, “It will be good having you on board.  I can use your help in getting things organized.”

Desiree nodded with tears in her eyes, “I look at Ana as the sister I never had.  She’ll hold up her end of the fight.”  Leo went to Desiree and took her in his arms.

Embree blew out a long breath, “A message has just gone out on the frequency used by the Unity to communicate with all of its citizens.  It’s saying an important announcement will be made in ninety minutes and for every planet to connect the broadcast to all communication devices.”

“Is the Braxel at Cruet?”

“It is, Captain.  It’s moved off the filament and is in normal space watching the planet.  If anything happens, we’ll know as soon as it does.”

Leo looked at Desiree, “Please come with me to my quarters.  We need to discuss how we’re going to handle this.  Embree, contact me when the President begins his address.”

“Yes, Sir.”  Desiree followed Leonidas off the bridge and knew they were not going to waste the remaining time discussing anything.

• • •

Victoria exited the shuttle and lifted her communicator, “Gem!”

“I’m in my quarters.  Meet me there.”

“On my way.”  Victoria arrived at Gem’s quarters and went straight in.  “Gem?”

“I’ll be out in a moment.”

“Please hurry.  We don’t have much time left.”

“Victoria, I’ve done something without discussing it with you.”

“What is that?”

A man stepped out of the bathing room and Victoria tilted her head.  She had not seen this man on the ship before.  She heard the man say, “I took a bath.”

Victoria stared at the man and said, “Who are you?”  The man was silent and after a moment, what he said sunk in to Victoria’s consciousness.  “GEM?”

“I saved this DNA from a man that Victoria told me years ago was the most beautiful human male she had ever laid her eyes on.  I collected a sample of his DNA and saved it to one day use it for Victoria and me to be together.  How do I look?”

Victoria sprung out of the chair she was sitting in and rushed to his arms, “You look like a stranger but you feel like my love!”

Gem held her tightly and Victoria sighed, “Is this process reversible?”

“No, you and I are never going back to our old bodies.”

Victoria leaned back, “Has your mind been affected by this change?”

“Was yours?”

Victoria went to her toes and kissed Gem hard.  He pulled her close and after a very long moment, she leaned back, “Your mother is going to kill you for doing this!”

“I’ve renounced my throne and title.  She can only blame herself if it comes down to it.  But it’s probably a moot issue.  Surviving the coming battle against Serge doesn’t look promising.”

“Then we better make the most of this time we have.”  She went back into his arms and had to admit that the former Victoria had excellent taste in men.  Before he picked her up she said, “Call me Ana.”

“And you can call me anytime you want.”  Ana burst out laughing and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.

• • •

Ninety minutes later, it took some time to convince the bridge crew that the man with her was Gem.  They missed the first few minutes of the President’s announcement but finally Billy said, “Hey, I was getting used to your appearance and now you go and take a form that puts us all to shame.  What do I have to do to take one of those baths?”

Everyone laughed and Gem said, “If we make it through this, I’ll see what I can do but you need to be careful.”

“Why is that?” Jack asked.

Gem smiled, “It’s like a tattoo, once it’s done, there’s no going back.”

Billy smiled, “Hey, make me your twin brother and I’ll take the consequences.”

Ana laughed and said, “Let’s listen to this.”  They turned and looked at the wall monitor.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Serge looked at his display and asked, “What is this announcement about?”

The spy on the Unity Government’s Planet shook his head, “I have no idea and the Governing Representatives also don’t know.  The President contacted the head of Communications and asked for the connections to be established from his ship.”

“Where is he?”

“No one knows, Mr. Romanov.”

“Let me know if you hear anything.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Serge sat back in his chair and wondered what was going on.  This might be something innocent but…it was highly unusual.  He called in the Chief-of-Security and they sat and waited for the President to speak.

• • •

The wall monitor on board the Thermopylae activated as Desiree and Leonidas rushed on the bridge.  Desiree’s face was flushed and Leonidas was smiling, “Has he started?”

Embree shouted, “It just came on.”

They turned and heard the President say, “I’ve asked for this time to discuss an issue that involves everyone in the Unity.  I’m not going to waste any time because I don’t know how much time I have.  Serge Romanov has placed hundreds of thousands of explosive devices on the Unity’s Government Planet as well as most of our warships.  I am ordering every one of our warships holding orbit above a planet to move away immediately.  I have also discovered that most of the planets in the Unity also have these devices on them under Serge Romanov’s control.  He intends to destroy Cruet with these devices along with the majority of our fleets.”

The President paused and let what he said sink in.  “It appears that Romanov has developed a means of teleportation and is going to send nuclear bombs to the devices he has placed.  I know he is listening now and it is important for you to know that he intends to remove the Unity and step into the vacuum created and become the ruler of this galaxy.  I realize that many planets have no love for the Unity but you need to realize that you will have no choice but to do as he orders or face the same fate that awaits my planet.  He has planned this for years and is ready to take total control of every inhabited planet in our galaxy.  You must resist this!”  The President shook his head and closed his eyes for a moment, “I have a small hope that now that I’ve revealed his plans that he might not do it.  He’s counting on all of you to welcome him in bringing order out of the chaos and then he’ll take total control.”

• • •

Serge looked at the Chief, “Contact the construction installations and issue commands for them to prepare to start the teleportation process and for the fleets to move here to Romania.”

“Do you think the plan will still work?”

“I’ll deny I had anything to do with it and scream convincingly enough that most won’t know what to believe.  How did he learn about this?”

“I have no idea.”

“Tell the technicians on the construction planets to start teleporting to the Insectoid Planets and Tortuga immediately after the Unity is destroyed.  I’ll be pressing the button to teleport the Trillium to the Unity Planet as soon as you confirm the other sites are ready to launch and our fleet arrives.”

The Chief left for his office and began sending orders to the hidden construction sites scattered around the galaxy.  He came back to Serge’s office fifteen minutes later and said, “The Fleets are on their way and will arrive within three hours.”

“Notify me when they clear the intersection.  I’ll start the teleportation process when they are close to Romania.”

The Chief left for his office and Serge saw the President end his announcement.  He would need to send ships out to find the President’s Ship and destroy it.  He had the current location plotted by tracking the source of the communication frequency.  He lifted his communicator, “Dispatch a squadron to go find the President and destroy his ship.”

“I’ve already dispatched ships to the location of his communication frequency.” One of his Senior Commanders replied.

“Good!  Let me know what happens.”

Serge sat back in his chair and wondered how the President had uncovered his plans.  His former dead daughter said that she had not revealed the plan to anyone hoping that she would be the beneficiary of it.  He smiled remembering her dying in excruciating pain screaming at the top of her voice.  It was a shame he had to kill his son as well but he had to make sure he wasn’t complicit in the treachery with his sister.  He wasn’t but, oh well, he was a victim of circumstances.  He would have to find another wife and have some more children; the company had to survive.

His panel beeped and he saw his assistant, “Sir, the President of the Unity has requested to speak with you.”

Serge’s eyes narrowed and, after a moment, responded, “Put him through.”

The President appeared and said, “Is there anything I can do to stop this?”

“I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“This is not being recorded and is on a private frequency.  I will step down and ask that you take my place if you’ll call this off.”  Serge stared at the President with narrowed eyes as he said, “There are billions of innocent beings on the Government Planet,” the President pleaded.

Serge waved his hand at the communicator, “There are no innocent beings on that planet.  They’re all involved in the government in one form or another.”

“Their families and children aren’t.”

“They are tainted by the ones that are.”

“Will you accept my offer and become President of the Unity?”

“Mr. President, I do not believe this conversation is not being recorded but even if it weren’t, I do not know why you have accused me of such hideous behavior.  Even if I chose to take advantage of this farce and take the office you’re offering, I’d be assassinated as soon as I set foot on the planet.  I have no desire to have any role in the Unity.  Quite frankly, your heavy handed tactics of forcing planets to join sicken me.”

“The peace the Unity brought to the galaxy has allowed you to trade and prosper.  Romania, more than any other planet, has grown and prospered beyond any other in the galaxy.”

“Without your incessant tampering, it would have grown even more.”

“You would have monopolized the entire economy if we didn’t make things fair for the other planets.”

“Tell it to someone who cares, Mr. President.”

“What if I shut down the government and send all of our warships to you to do as you want with them?”

Serge looked at the President and was really tempted by the offer.  But the beast would still be alive.  It could just as easily be brought back to life; but this way, there was a certainty that wouldn’t happen.  “You’re talking insanity.  This conversation is over.”

Serge ended the call and the President looked at his pilot, “Get us out of here.”  The President’s Ship was located at a giant intersection with hundreds of filaments that crossed each other.  His ship flashed into a giant filament and boosted to high speed.  “Sir, I have a huge fleet of warships on the opposite side of the filament headed toward the Zegar Quadrant.”

“Are they Romanov’s ships?”

“No, Sir.  They aren’t but they appear to have huge military transports along with thousands of warships.”

“What filament are we currently on?”

“It’s called the 440 and moves at an incredible speed.”

“Boost to a faster speed and get by them as quickly as possible.”

“Yes, Sir.  I’ve just received a message from the ships we had with us at the intersection that six hundred Romanov Warships just arrived and are fanning out into the filaments.”

“They won’t be able to catch us.  Maintain this course and we’ll come back after a few weeks to see what’s happened.  I’m depending on you to make sure we aren’t followed.”

“Yes, Sir.  Are you certain one of those devices isn’t on this ship?”

The president’s eyes narrowed as he said, “I honestly don’t know.”  That was the last thing the President said as his ship exploded into vapor and was scattered along the 440 filament.

• • •

“Why didn’t you tell the President his ship was mined, Leonidas?” Desiree asked.

Leonidas sighed, “I am hoping that our devices prevent the teleport modules from sending their explosives.”

“But I would think that you’d want the President’s Ship to survive.”

Leo sighed heavily, “I have given a lot of thought to what is going to happen when the Romanov Technicians load the explosives into the sending modules and press the button to launch them.  I have to believe that most of the sending modules are not on Romania but will be launched from Serge’s secret building locations.  Serge will order the first wave of launches to be delivered against the Unity’s fleets and Cruet.  If just one launcher fails, the other modules might not be used until they investigate what caused the failure.”

Desiree’s eyebrows went up, “I’m not sure I understand what you’re saying.”

“Well, if I’m right and they send all the explosives simultaneously, how long will they be set to detonate after arrival?”

Embree shouted from his console, “It is going to be quick.”

Leo nodded, “They’ll have to be.  The nuclear material will be immediately detectable when it arrives in the receiving module.  What happens if the sending module is not able to send it to a receiver that is being blocked by our devices?  What if our electronic blocking devices prevents them from operating?”

Everyone on the bridge stared at Leo and Barney said, “Then it will go up inside the sending module.  I don’t think there will be enough time to open the module and shut it down before the timer expires.”

“And if one sending module explodes when they launch on the Unity…”

Embree said, “They will delay the other launches on Tortuga and the Insectoids to check out what’s going on.”

Desiree stared at Leo and said, “You’re hoping the second wave of launches being sent to the Insectoid Planets and Tortuga will all go up together.”

“I couldn’t risk saving the President and revealing a flaw in their plan.  I really believe he would understand why but I just couldn’t take the risk.”

“What do you think Serge is going to do first?”

“Carl, he’s going to take out the Unity Fleets first to prevent them from getting to Romania and attacking the fleets he has to be bringing there.  Once that’s done, the Government Planet will be next followed by the Insectoids and Tortuga being attacked simultaneously.”

Embree spoke up suddenly, “Braxel reports that all the warships above the Government Planet have just gone up in massive explosions.”

Leo sighed, “Contact Blakely and tell him to get moving.  Is the Romanov ship still hanging around in the Tortuga Filament?”

“It is and it will see the fleets leaving orbit.”

“Send the ships at the intersection to take it out.”  Embree nodded and pressed a button on his console.”

• • •

“Sir, all of the Pirate Ships in orbit around Tortuga are moving out of orbit.”  The Chief nodded and then heard, “SIR, I HAVE TWENTY WARSHIPS MOVING IN AND OPENING FIRE ON…”

The display went dark and the Chief took a deep breath.  It didn’t matter.  Most of those Pirates would be dead in a few minutes along with their planet.  He didn’t like killing so many beings in this endeavor but that is what happens in war and Romanov was going to war.  The plan had been in the works for decades and was now being put into motion.  Stopping him was not an option.  Even trying would cause his death. 

He missed his wife and knew that he had been manipulated by Serge with a total disregard of his emotions.  But he knew who Serge was and wasn’t surprised by it.  He would have to pull his life together and start over once this was done.  Thank God they didn’t have any children.  He would make sure that next time he did.  He tried to talk Serge out of this plan and risked his life doing so.  He didn’t attempt to change his mind again.

• • •

Gem listened to the transmissions being sent from the Thermopylae and Billy said, “That’s why Leo didn’t want the fleets at Tortuga leaving before Romanov started attacking the Unity.”

Gem nodded, “If he had moved the fleets early, Romanov would have taken them out first and then started on the Unity.  It had to be timed this way.”

Billy looked at his monitor and lowered his head, “Cruet has just gone up in a massive explosion.  Braxel reports that the surface of every continent is covered with molten lava from massive fractures in the planet’s surface.  The atmosphere was blown away in the initial explosion.”

Gem lowered his eyes and Billy said, “More than twelve billion beings from all the inhabited planets lived on that planet.”

“Were any able to escape?” Ana asked.

Billy looked at Ana, “Thousands of private shuttles and commercial vessels lifted from the planet and left orbit immediately after the President’s speech.  Most of them were far enough away to survive but the devastation to the planet was pretty complete.  The few thousands of ships that managed to leave in time are headed toward the filament to try and go to a safe place.”

Ana shook her head, “I should have killed him.”

Gem clacked and said, “Then his daughter would be doing this.  You wouldn’t have accomplished anything, Ana.”

“You told me this before but at least that monster would have paid for what he’s doing.”

“The universe has a way of balancing things, Ana.  We might not be able to balance the scales at this moment but ultimately, I believe Serge will pay for what he’s doing.”  Gem looked at Billy, “How long before the Fellowship Fleets arrive.”

“About ten hours.”

Gem lifted his communicator, “Attention all crewmembers.  Start practicing on your weapon consoles.  Use the training programs that have large numbers of enemy vessels attacking our ship.  I want all of you to stand down five hours from now and get some rest.  That is all.”

Gem looked at Ana, we need to try and get some sleep before we leave for Romania.”  He looked at the bridge crew, “Alternate and all of you get some rest.”

“How are we going to sleep?” Jack asked.

“Sleep will be hard but rest will help in what’s coming.  If you can release your fear of dying, it will be easier.”

“Are you afraid of dying, Sir?”

Gem looked at Billy, “Somethings are worth dying for and this is one of those things.  I only hope I can make my life worthy by taking as many of the evil ones as possible with me.”

Gem took Ana’s hand and they left the bridge.  Billy leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.  A few minutes later, he was snoring.  Jack rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair.  He thought about his life and the many times he had almost died fighting as a mercenary.  If he died now…Gem was right.  It was worth it and perhaps he would be remembered by those he was fighting to save.  It took a while, but sleep finally found him.

• • •

Serge Romanov was ecstatic.  His plan was going off like a charm and the images sent from the Unity Planet was more than he ever hoped for; complete and total destruction.  He stood up and danced a jig and thought that the ditzy blonde was right, sometimes dancing could be quite enjoyable.  He went back to his console and stood beside it as he lifted the communicator.  The Chief appeared on his display and he laughed before saying, “Now it’s time to remove the Insects and Pirates.”

“Yes, Sir.  I’ll issued the orders now.”  Serge started dancing again and jumped up and clicked his heels together.  This galaxy was his for the taking.  His console beeped and he lifted the communicator, “Yes!”

The Chief looked at him and said, “Sir, all of our construction facilities have just gone up in massive explosions.”

Serge’s eyes narrowed as he fell into his chair.  “What are you saying?”

“Sir, all two hundred locations blew up simultaneously.  We have no way of knowing how it was done; there’s nothing left to investigate.”

“What about the Insects and Pirates?”

“Our ships close to their locations have stopped reporting.  I have no way of knowing if the devices were successful in destroying them.”

“Get some ships out now!!  I want to know what’s happening!!”

“Yes, Sir.”

“What about the warships still at the building locations?”

The Chief hesitated and said, “None have survived.”

“How many ships were destroyed?”

“About ten thousand.”

Serge was shocked but managed to ask, “How many were on their way here?”

“Fifty-six thousand had left the building sites prior to their destruction, Sir.”

Serge shook his head, “CONTACT ALL OF THE ARMED COMMERCIAL SHIPS AND GET ME SOME ANSWERS ABOUT THE INSECTS AND PIRATES!!”  Serge was stunned.  All of the devices that controlled the receiving modules on all the galaxy’s inhabited planets were located at those construction sites.  It was going to be impossible to connect another sending module to them without knowing their individual receiving frequencies and that information went up with the sites.  He would have to send new receiving modules and that would pose problems now that the planets knew about their existence.  But…the Unity was gone and he possessed the largest fleet of warships in the galaxy.  The galaxy was still his.  He just had to go out and take it.  He sat at his console wondering how his plan had taken the severe hit to it and saw the first vessels of his massive fleets arriving above the planet on his huge wall monitor.  Soon, there was a flood of incoming warships and they formed up in huge ranks in orbit above Romania.  He began to feel his tension start to fade and he forced a smile.  This was only a setback.  But who had done this?  He felt his tension rise again.  Who could it be?

Serge sighed looked at his console and saw hundreds of messages arriving from the inhabited planets but he ignored them and his assistants told the callers that he was unavailable.  He would issue an announcement and tell them that he had nothing to do with Cruet’s destruction.  He would profess his innocence and call for an investigation to find out who had carried out this terroristic action.  All he needed was some time for the event to lose some steam before he began taking steps to consolidate his economic hold on the galaxy.  He would lower his prices to demonstrate his sorrow at what had taken place which would effectively put all of his competitors out of business.  Once the rest of the galaxy was dependent on his electronic components, he would triple the prices and forbid any other planets from building competitive industries.  He had the warships to make it stick.  He pulled up the preplanned speech and began rehearsing.  He worked hard on the proper display of emotions.  This was his moment to shine and he looked forward to it.

• • •

“Sir, Serge Romanov has sent word out to all the planets that were members of the Unity that he will be delivering a message to them in eight hours.  He’s sent the frequency he will be using to contact them.”

Leo looked at Embree, “Is there any away for us to tie in to the frequency he’s using?”

“Let me work on it.  I might be able to send a side-by-side video with his.”

“What is that?” Desiree asked.

“Any device receiving his communication will have the screen divided in half with him on one side and whoever is speaking on our end on the other side.”  Embree paused and asked, “Who is going to deliver the message?”

Leo looked around and sighed, “I guess that would be me.”

“What are you going to say?”

“I have to think about it.”  Leo was silent for a moment and said, “Is there any way to mute Serge?”

“I’ll see what I can do.  You may just have to talk over him.”

Leo shrugged, “See what you can do.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Ana appeared on his display and said, “Before I put Gem on, I want to warn you that he has undergone a sort of transformation.”

“A what?”

“Leo, he used the bath.”

Desiree looked at Leo, “Bath?”

A handsome man appeared on Leo’s display and smiled, “I understand Mr. Romanov is going to address the slaves.”

Leo stared at the man and said, “GEM?”

The man smiled, “I’ve made a few changes.”

“Your mother is so going to kill you!”

“Too late.  What’s done is done.  I’ve resigned my title and informed her that I was staying to fight with honorable beings that deserved my devotion.  Anyway, that’s not something to worry about.  What are you going to do about this speech Serge is going to make?”

Leo shrugged, “I’m having Embree come up with a means of sending a message over the top of his.”

“What are you going to say?”

“I’m struggling with that now.”

“May I offer some suggestions?”

“Fire away.  I’m open to anything.”

Gem began speaking and, after a few minutes, Leo started smiling.  He glanced at Embree, who mouthed, “I’m recording this.”  Leo nodded and sat back.  He didn’t concern himself with understanding every word but was amazed at Gem’s new body.  Desiree was also shaking her head as she was speaking with Ana privately on her communicator.  Gem was absolutely gorgeous.  Why did the universe make things so difficult at the happiest of times?

• • •

The Chief tried to get a ship through the Insectoids filaments and was unsuccessful.  As soon as they entered the filament, they went offline.  He sent a ship to the Tortuga Filament and it was also prevented from moving toward the planet by Cartian Traffic Control.  He wasn’t about to cause the loss of using the filaments by ignoring their instructions.  He had no idea if the devices had functioned properly.  But he was not about to tell Serge.  He was in a killing mood and he decided he would delay answering his inquires as long as possible.  He thought about what had happened and realized that something must have blocked the receiving modules at Tortuga and possibly the Insectoid Planets.  It wouldn’t be a real problem, Serge still had a much larger fleet of warships than both of them did combined. And Serge’s fleets were modern whereas most of the Pirate Vessels were not.

He thought about it and decided that he might need to go investigate personally and get away from Romania.  He contacted Serge and was told he was busy rehearsing his speech.  He left a recorded message and took a shuttle off the planet to the fleets in orbit.  He ordered a squadron of warships to take him to the Insectoid filament.  He arrived at the Insectoid intersection and stopped his ships there.  He contacted his second-in-command on Romania and ordered him to notify him if anything happened.  He waited and then decided to move away from the intersection.  His two hundred warships left the filament and entered normal space five hundred miles away.  He left six warships at the intersection and ordered them to report if they saw any Insectoid activity.  He sat back and waited.  He pulled out his account card and looked at his account in the Treasury on Kellinger.  A hundred and eighty billion credits worth of valuable metals and jewels.  His wife had been a brilliant saver over the years if nothing else.  However, it wouldn’t do any good if he was dead.  Something was happening behind the scenes and he did not intend to have it jump up and bite him.  Whatever it was, it should be revealing itself shortly.  He settled in and waited. 

He was thankful the Commander of the Squadron didn’t question his actions.  He was a pretty smart officer and saw that, for the moment, they should be out of any action that took place and out of danger.  He sat back in his chair and waited for Serge to start his speech.  That should prove to be interesting; he wrote most of it.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Serge sat at his desk and watched the video director raise his five fingers and start a count down by going to four fingers, then three, two, and then one.  He pointed at Serge and closed his fist.  Serge looked directly at the camera, which was located directly in front of a huge teleprompter with his speech written on it in letters that were easily visible from Serge’s desk.  The viewing audience would never know he was reading.

“I know that all of you have questions about what the former President accused me of doing.  I’ve done everything in my power to find out why he was making such an outrageous accusation and I’ve failed to come up with an answer.”  Serge paused and leaned forward as he stared into the camera, “I am outraged by his accusations and I promise all of you that I had nothing to do with what happened to the Unity.  It is due to the peace the Unity has brought to the galaxy that has allowed my business to thrive and prosper.  Why would I ever want any harm to befall it?  I am absolutely innocent of his charges and I request an open investigation to find the monsters that did this and exonerate me from his ridiculous charges.  I find it interesting that he was not on Cruet when the destruction took place and I firmly believe you need look no further than the President to find out who did this horrific deed.”

Serge looked like he was about to cry and he wiped the corner of his left eye with a tissue.  “I know that there is going to be a time of uncertainty while all of the inhabited planets in our galaxy try to come to terms with what’s taken place.  Starting immediately, I am reducing the price of everything Romanov Industries produces to one third of its current price in hopes that I can assist planets that may be struggling economically with the uncertainty we are all facing.  I am willing to do anything I can to help bring order out of this chaos and I pray whoever did this is brought to justice…”

• • •

Leo looked at Embree and pointed at him.  Serge continued reading his speech but unbeknown to him, Leonidas’ image appeared beside his on every communication device listening to the speech.  “I really hate to interrupt such a wonderful acting job being delivered by Mr. Romanov, but there is some things all of you need to know.  The devices on Cruet that destroyed the planet emit a frequency that is almost impossible to detect.  However, I have that frequency along with the instructions on how to modify some of your communication devices to detect it.  I am sending that information now and I ask that you record this and start looking to see if any of those devices are on your planets.  When you find them, and you will find them, please notice that they are all embedded in electronic devices that were manufactured by Romanov Industries.  The President was absolutely right about Serge Romanov covering Cruet with these devices and he possesses a device that is capable of teleporting nuclear explosives into the receiving devices on your planets.  He is making his prices so cheap to get more of them to your worlds so he can hold every planet hostage against not doing as he commands.  He also plans to put all of his competitors out of business in the process and prevent any new competitors from entering the marketplace.  I believe the devices that are currently on your planets have been made inactive.  So, for the moment, you’re safe.  If you allow more Romanov electronic devices to be brought to your worlds, you’re inviting Cruet’s destiny.  Romanov intends to rule you with an iron fist and you’re insane if you allow it.”  Leo looked at Embree and he ended the transmission.

• • •

Serge continued speaking and completed his speech.  He wiped another tear from his eyes as the director ran a hand across his neck indicating the camera was off.  “Well, how did I do?”

The director shouted, “Bravo!” as the video crew started clapping.  Serge leaned back in his chair and smiled.  The door to his office few open and his assistant rushed in, “The speech was hijacked!!”

Serge looked at him in shock, “What are you talking about!”

The assistant connected his communicator to the huge wall monitor and fast forwarded the recording.  Serge sat there and saw Leonidas start talking in the middle of his presentation.  His eyes went wide and then they went to slits.  He had been played for a fool. His message board began lighting up and another assistant came rushing in, “We’re receiving word from some of the planets that they’ve found the devices in numerous Romanov electronics.  They are ordering you to stay away.”

Serge watched the video again and his anger grew by the moment.  He forced himself to think and then he pressed some buttons on his console and began scrolling through the list of frequencies.  He found the one he was looking for and pressed the button next to it.

• • •

Embree looked up from his panel, “Uhhh, Sir.  I have a call coming in from Serge Romanov.”

“Really.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Well answer it and see what he wants, Embree.”

Embree stared at Leonidas and then shrugged as he pressed the receive button, “Hello, Mr. Romanov.  How may I help you?”

Serge saw Embree and immediately recognized him.  He lowered his eyes and said, “It appears I missed you.”

“Don’t beat yourself up over that.  I had the communications relayed to the shuttle and I wasn’t on board; it was a mistake anyone could make.  I will say that the shuttle went up in a very bright blast, so to speak.”

“Since you are still alive, may I also assume your Captain is as well?”

“He is and asked to me to inquire as to the nature of your call.”

“Put him on the channel!”

“Mr. Romanov, whatever happened to basic courtesy?  You try to kill me in an explosion and don’t have the decency to say please?”

“You miserable…”

Embree ended the call and looked at Leonidas, “A communications officer can only take so much, Sir.”

Leonidas laughed and Embree looked down at his panel again, pressed a button, and said, “Yes.”

“Connect me with Leonidas…please.”

“Now was that so hard?”

Leonidas saw Serge appear on his console with a red face, “Hello Mr. Romanov.”

“You are going to be hunted down and killed.”

“I look forward to the chase.  Is there anything else you wish to discuss or is the purpose of this call just to make threats?”

“You breeched our contract!”

“Oh come on, Serge!  You made a contract with a pirate, what did you expect?”

“I expected you to keep it!”

“Well, I would have except for a small matter of discovering your modules were pretty much everywhere in this galaxy including being on some of my ships.  It was easy to figure out that they were there for a reason and quite frankly, I just couldn’t work with a murderous psychopath intent on dominating the galaxy.  Your destruction of my shuttle pretty much proved I was right.”

“You lied to me from the start.  You never had any idea where Ana was and extorted me.”

“I’m cut to the heart, Serge,” Leo said with dripping sarcasm.   “Ana is right here with me now and has been the entire time.  Matter of fact, you’ve met her face-to-face.”

“And just when did that happen?”

“Hold on a moment and let me see if she’ll speak with you.  I must tell you that her opinion of you had changed quite a bit since I first met her.”  Leo pressed some buttons on his panel and Ana appeared, “I have Serge on my display and he’s calling me a liar about having seen you.  Are you up to speaking to him?”

“Patch me in.”

Serge stared at his display and an image of Leonidas appeared on one half of his monitor and the ditzy blonde appeared on the other half.  The blonde looked at him and said, “What’s the matter Daddy, got nothing to say to your daughter?”

“You are not Ana!”

“Remember the small black and white puppy you gave me for my sixth birthday.  I named him Serge to honor you.  You had me take the yellow ribbon out of my hair when I graduated from elementary school because you didn’t like it.  You took my sister and me to Lyris when we graduated secondary school and had to leave to sign some contracts.  You wore a navy blue blazer with grey pants on that trip.  Oh, I’m Ana, and I really regret not killing you when I had the opportunity at the Black Flower Restaurant.”

“You do not have Ana’s DNA.”

“Come on, Daddy!  You don’t have a corner on the market of all advanced technology.  I learned that you are not really my biological father and I will make you pay for killing my sister and her baby!”

Serge smiled, “The purpose of this call was to simply ascertain your location.  Now that I have it, I have a gift coming your way momentarily and you will be joining your sister shortly.”

Carl announced, “Captain, we have two hundred warships moving on the filament toward our location.

Leonidas smiled, “I do hope none of your real family members are on the ships you’ve sent.  I’ll be coming to see you shortly.”  Leo looked at Barney, “Drop the stardrive and enter normal space.  Ana, we’ll separate when they move into firing range.  Use your greater speed to stay outside their blaster range.  Try not to waste your missiles.”

Gem replaced her on the display, “We’re moving away from your vessel now and will hold position until the ships are inside our blaster range.”

Leonidas pressed the Battle station’s alarm and announced over the internal speakers, “Only use a missile if one of the approaching warships moves inside their blaster range.  Blaster Teams, hit them quick and hit them hard!”

Two hundred Romanov Warships emerged into normal space a hundred miles out and began boosting toward them.  At twenty-five miles, the Play Toy and Thermopylae turned and moved away from the Romanov Warships’ line of approach.  All six blasters on the Thermopylae were charged and at twenty miles, the Play Toy opened fire first.  Six Romanov Warships exploded into huge balls of fire.  A moment later, The Thermopylae exploded six more.  The chase was on and Romanov Warships began exploding quickly.  The Play Toy was hit by a single blaster beam but the hardened Insectoid hull shrugged it off.  A missile destroyed the ship that had managed to get too close.

• • •

The Romanov Squadron Commander swore and yelled at his Communications Operator, “Order them surrounded and pinned in.”

“Sir, they are too fast for us to do it and their blasters have fifty percent more range than our blasters.”

“Well order them rammed.  I want them…”

The Squadron Commander never finished his statement.  Billy tracked his transmissions and ordered a missile to take out his ship.  Forty minutes later, the surviving twenty six Romanov Warships energized their stardrives and fled for the filament.  Fifteen of them were chased down and blasted into rubble.  The eleven survivors fled toward the intersection at maximum boost and the senior surviving Ship Commander contacted his Fleet Admiral.  He sent the recording of the battle just as four hundred Pirate Warships came through the intersection and blasted the eleven survivors into vapor.

Leonidas watched the destruction of the survivors and smiled.  “It’s good to see you, Captain Blakely.”

“How many ships attacked you, Leonidas?”

“Two hundred.”

“My, my, I am impressed.”

“How far behind you are the rest of the ships?” Leo asked.

“They all should be here within two hours.”

“We should start getting them organized and go over our plan of battle.”

“That I am going to leave to you.  I’m accustomed to organizing about forty ships.  The sixteen thousand or so coming here are far beyond my expertise.”

“According to a ship that left Romania, they counted more than fifty thousand warships moving into formation there.”

“I hope you have a means of escape included in those plans.”

“We’ll do what we can; we are not going there to commit suicide.  However, if we run, you know they will be going straight to Tortuga.”

“Then we might as well stay and enjoy the party as long as possible.  What are we trying to accomplish here?”

“We have to reduce the number of warships Serge has at his disposal to impose his will.  We don’t have to destroy all of his fleets to win.  We must hurt him enough to force him into keeping his surviving warships at Romania to protect himself.”

“Sounds simple enough,” Blakely replied.

Leonidas chuckled, “Simplicity is like that.  Sounds simple but it’s never simple to accomplish.”

Blakely smiled, “I need to write that down.”

• • •

Gem looked at Billy, “That was a great idea taking out the commander of that squadron with a missile, they lost their organization after he was taken off the board.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

“Once we get into the real fight, I want you searching out the Romanov warships with their Fleet Leaders and do the same thing again.”

“It will be my pleasure.”

“Jack, contact the Thermopylae and let them know about this idea.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Ana looked at Gem, “Those missiles are real killers.  How many do we have on board?”

“I had the storage bay loaded with them.  We have about eight thousand and the Thermopylae has about half that number.  We have more because the Toy is about twice the tonnage and double the storage space that Leonidas has on his ship.”

Ana shook her head, “That’s not near enough to take on more than fifty thousand warships.”

“You’re right.  But using them against the right targets can make a critical difference.  I don’t believe that Serge will send all of his warships at us in the initial wave.”

“Why not?” Ana asked.

“Because all tyrants are cowards at heart.  He will not leave the Romania defenseless and the bigger the coward he is, the more he will keep at home to protect him.”

“What are you thinking he will do?”

“He’ll send half of them out and then send the other half if he’s losing the battle.  If things get really bad, he’ll board a ship and leave the planet with an escort of the remaining ships to allow him to escape.”  Gem paused, “However, I don’t see that happening.  He outnumbers us by far too many for that to happen.”

“You need to pass this information on to Leonidas.”  Gem turned his head toward Ana and she said, “Leo was not a commander of a warships, he fought on the ground.  He needs your wisdom, Gem!”

Gem nodded and pressed his communicator.  Leonidas appeared and he told him what he suspected was going to happen.  Thirty minutes later, Leonidas and Blakely arrived on the Play Toy and Gem was put in command of the Pirate Fleet.  Ana listened in to the meeting and was amazed at Gem’s ability to see things others missed.  She was so fortunate that he loved her.  She really didn’t deserve him but gave thanks that he did.

Gem looked at Leonidas and Blakely, “The number of ships that came here to attack us pretty much reveals how the Romanov Fleets are organized.”

Leo’s straightened up and he asked, “How do you figure that?”

“Because a basic unit would have been sent to destroy your ship.  They wouldn’t break up a unit and lose its command structure.  That means that their fleets are made up of two hundred ship units commanded by a Squadron Leader.  Five of the squadrons will compose a fleet commanded by One Fleet Commander, so that means their major fleets will be made up of units of one thousand warships in each fleet commanded by a single Junior Fleet Commander.  Another higher ranking commander will command five of these fleets.  At that point, a single Major Fleet Commander will be in overall command of half of the fleets and another will command the other half.  Serge will be in overall command of both.”

Blakely stared at Gem and said, “So one Major Commander will command twenty five thousand warships with five Senior Fleet Commanders reporting directly to him.”

“Yes, and I believe that Serge will order one of them to go out and meet us with his command while he keeps the other in reserve above Romania against any of our ships that could break though to attack the planet and launch a nuclear missile at the city he’s located in.”

Leonidas and Blakely thought about this information and Gem said, “That means that there will be twenty five Junior Fleet Commanders commanding the one thousand ship units.  There will be five higher ranking fleet commanders leading five of the thousand ship units and one overall commander.”

Blakely looked at Gem, “Why is this important?”

“Because if we can take out the leaders, they will lose their cohesion and no one will be willing to make a major decision without higher up approval.  Take their leaders out and the more organized force will have a superior advantage in what follows.”

Blakely looked at Leonidas and then said to Gem, “How do we find these leader’s ships.”

“Simply look for the ones with the highest number of incoming and outgoing communications.  The Commanders require information to make decisions and that means they will be receiving reports on everything from readiness reports to enemy ship counts.  The Toy and Thermopylae will be targeting those vessels and will fire missiles at all of those ships as we find them and, if we’re successful at taking them out, no one in those fleets is going to be willing to issue any orders if they know they’re dead if they do.”

“What do we do about the other ships?” Leo asked.

“The Romanov Fleets are highly organized and they will maintain their ranks during the battle.  The trick is to isolate the units with overwhelming numbers, hit it fast, and run from the others.  We’ll organize our fleet into four hundred ship units and tell them to run around the Fleets avoiding contact until a two hundred ship unit breaks out to attack.  They’ll turn and all of them will open fire at once.  They’ll then turn and run before they can be hit by superior numbers.”

“Do you honestly think this will work?” Blakely asked.

“We’d be overwhelmed and beaten if they just released their ships to go after us in mass.  But commanders like to command and get their egos stroked by doing it.  They will refuse to lose control of their subordinates by breaking ranks to go after us.  Remember, there are many directions to run in open space and by rapidly changing course and keeping a distance between our units, we will spread them out and run them into our units as they’re chasing us.  They will be ordered to focus on their assigned targets and will not see our units moving around them until it’s too late.  It is during this time that we will find the ships where their leaders are located and take them out.”

Blakely looked at Leonidas and shrugged, “Do you think our Commanders can do this?”

Leo looked at Gem, “You are going to have to explain it to them.”

“I will and I will also create a pattern our units should follow while evading that will put them in position to fire on other Romanov units on the fly.  However, all of us need to make sure that we know if the Romanov Fleets take enough punishment and go after us in mass, then we will stop using units and it will be every ship for themselves.”

Leonidas shrugged, “I was going to do that from the start.  This sounds like a good plan.  Thank you, Gem.”

Blakely exhaled sharply, “Just how do you know any pattern you develop will work against them.  You don’t know how they’ll be forming up to meet us.”

Gem smiled, “They will form up between us and the planet.  If we spread our ships out, they will have to do the same to keep us from rushing around them towards the planet and attacking.  We know how many ships they’ll be using and that tells us how many will be facing our units.  If we start the pattern as they move forward, it will work.”

Blakely looked at Leonidas shaking his head, “My mind is just not big enough to really understand how we’ll do this but I’m going to trust he knows what he’s suggesting.” 

“We’ll still be heavily outnumbered but this plan gives us an opportunity to whittle down their numbers before they send in the other fleet holding station above Romania,” Gem replied to him.

Blakely blew out a hard breath, “We’ll connect all our ships on the general frequency in an hour and you can tell us what we need to do.”

“It is going to take us the better part of two days to get the units established, organized, and practice the pattern so they understand it.  Once that’s done, we’ll go and pay Serge Romanov a visit,” Gem said with a smile.  Leo and Blakely nodded.

• • •

Serge stared at one of his major trading partners on his console’s monitor and heard him say, “You were incredibly stupid to attack the Unity, Serge.”

“I DIDN’T DO IT!”

The Egulen looked at Serge and shook its head as it said, “Serge, Serge, Serge, you’ve placed me in an untenable position.  All the planets I trade with have called for a boycott of anyone that does business with you.  I personally had no love for the Unity and detested the way they stopped some of my business plans, just as I’m sure you did as well.  But claiming you had nothing to do with it is ludicrous?!”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I had my engineers make that device that was shown during your speech and by the way, it was a marvelous speech, Serge, you almost made me weep.  However, they then searched a shipment of electronic parts I purchased from you recently and found that frequency coming out of a box that have not been opened.  That frequency was emanating from numerous devices inside the box.  I had it opened and they found fifteen electronic parts that had some sort of small device inside them causing that frequency.  So unless someone boarded your freighter, inserted those devices into those sealed electronic parts, without your crew seeing them do it, they came from you!  That pretty much proves that you are the one that destroyed the Unity and I’m pretty sure every inhabited planet in the galaxy has performed the same searches and knows it as well.”  The Egulen paused and said, “I’ve been wondering, Serge.  We’ve been friends for years and I’ve bought trillions of credits worth of your products.  Why did you send those devices to my world?  My engineers have found them scattered around my planet in most of the cities and also on the ships I use to trade?”  Serge sat and stared at the Egulen in silence and he finally said, “Well…until you can answer that question satisfactorily, I will have to no longer purchase your products.  Even if you choose to make them free, I really think no one is going to accept them after what you did to Cruet.”

The display went dark and Serge slammed his fist on his console.  That blasted Pirate had ruined his plan and now he was isolated.  Every one of the planets that were members of the Unity had contacted him and told him to stay away.  He was a pariah and it was all that Pirate’s fault…along with that cursed adopted daughter.  But he could go out in conquest just like the Unity had done and force the planets to his will.  The Unity had stripped them of their warships and they would be forced to obey him or be bombarded from space.  But first, that Pirate had to pay. 

Where was his security chief?  He looked at his panel and scrolled back. He found the message where he was going to check out the Insectoid planets; he pressed a button on his console, “Have you heard anything from my Chief-of-Security.”

“No, Sir.”

Serge began to wonder if the Insects were still operational.  But they had not shown up so they must have been harmed by his devices.  He pressed another button on his panel and saw the two Senior Fleet Commanders appear on his display, “I am going to dispatch one of your fleets to Tortuga.  I want you to go there and blast them into rubble and that includes the planet.”

One of the Commanders nodded and the other looked away for a moment.  He turned back to Serge and said, “That won’t be necessary, Sir.”

Serge’s eyebrows came together, “Oh?  And why is that?”

“I’ve just received word from the ships I’ve assigned to patrol the filaments at the intersection closest to Romania that thousands of Pirate Warships are coming out of the intersection and moving toward us on the Romanian Filament.”

“HOW MANY?!” Serge yelled.

“They counted several thousand before all of them were attacked and stopped reporting.  None are reporting now.  It appears the Pirates were not harmed by your devices and are coming here to hold you accountable.”

Serge sneered and looked at the junior Major Fleet Commander, “You will take your fleet out to meet them.  I will hold the second fleet here against any of them breaking through your lines.  My intelligence estimated before we initiated our attacks that the Pirates don’t have enough warships to be a problem for you.  Move out and destroy them.  Once that’s done, go to Tortuga and blast the planet!”  The junior Commander nodded and disappeared from Serge’s display.

“Sir, don’t you think we should both go out to meet them.”

“NO!  If just one ship breaks through, it will fire a nuclear missile at my city.  You will gather your ships above the city now!”

“What about the rest of the planet?”

“FOLLOW YOUR ORDERS OR I’LL FIND SOMEONE WHO WILL!!”

“Yes, Sir.  I’ll move into position immediately.”

Serge was frightened and that wasn’t something he was equipped to deal with.  But he had them highly outnumbered with more modern warships; he should be fine.  He began shaking and kept saying over and over, “I’ll be fine…”

Chapter Twenty-Four

The sixteen thousand and fifty-eight pirate ships were organized into forty units of four hundred ships.  Blakely was in command of the fleet and he protested doing it initially, until Leonidas persuaded him to do it.

“Captain, our two ships are going to be completely focused on finding the warships with the Fleet Leaders on board and targeting them with a missile.  There is no possible way for us to do that and also command the units.” Leo said to Blakely.

“But I’ve never commanded anything nearly as large as this.”

Gem looked at him, “You’ve commanded your forty ships, haven’t you?”

“Well, yes.”

“Then simply look at each unit as a single ship and act accordingly.  You have the pattern they need to follow so your main task will be just keeping them on course.  Controlling all the ships in each unit will fall to the Forty Unit Commanders, you can do this,” Gem said reassuringly.

Blakely closed his eyes and then opened them, “I’ll do what I can.”

Leonidas looked at him, “Captain, the ones that came here are here because you are here.  They respect you and will do what you order.  I’m not certain they would trust Gem or me if we were issuing them orders.”

Blakely rolled his eyes and nodded, “I said I’ll do it!”

• • •

Leonidas and Gem were far ahead of the incoming pirate fleet and came off the filament into normal space where it passed Romania at its closest point.  A huge fleet of Romanov Warships were moving away from the planet and placing themselves in normal space between the filament and the planet.  Leonidas looked at Embree, “Alright, it’s time to do your magic.”

Embree pressed a button on his panel and an image of the Romanov Fleet appeared on the huge wall monitor.  A moment later, bright white lines appeared going between the ships and Embree began removing some of the ships with small numbers of white lines out of the image.  Ten minutes later, only ships with numerous white lines moving toward them remained on the monitor and their numbers were decreasing rapidly.  Leonidas watched the process and saw Embree pressing buttons furiously on his console, “What are you doing?”

“I’m sending half of those ships on the monitor to the Toy and I’m sending ship frequencies we’re going to go after to the missiles in our inventory.  I’m arranging them from the ships with the most communications down to the ones with the least.  The ones with the least are the twenty-five thousand ship commanders.  We need to prioritize the senior leaders for initial attack and then go after the junior commanders once they’re eliminated.”

“You need to hurry, I don’t know how long they’re just going to sit there and allow us to scan them.”

Barney smiled, “Sir, they aren’t going to break up their formations to attack us.  They probably think that’s what we’re trying to provoke them into doing.  No, they’ll hold formation and wait for our fleet to arrive.”

Leonidas looked at Barney, “You think?”

“Sir, we’ve removed the scouts they have in subspace so they don’t know where our fleet is located.  The fleet could be just outside normal space directly under us waiting for them to weaken their formations in order to attack us.  If they knew where our fleet was, then they’d send ships out to attack us now.  However, they don’t know so they’ll wait.”

Leonidas nodded, “You make a good point, Barney.  Keep loading them in Embree!”

Embree nodded and kept his eyes on his panel.  He hadn’t found the Senior Fleet Commander’s ship.  Evidently, he had a well-trained fleet and didn’t need to issue instructions.  He would have to wait until the fleet arrived and watch closely for a single transmission to be sent to all the Romanov Ships.  That officer had to be eliminated early.  He would be smart enough to recognize the pattern and takes steps to neutralize it.  Leonidas looked at Embree and saw his expression, “Embree!”

“The Overall Major Commander of the Fleet moving toward us is not communicating.  I’m going to have to wait for the fleet to arrive and see him issue the attack order before I can lock his ship down!”

“What if they’ve been ordered to attack when the fleet arrives and he remains silent?”

“Then we’re going to have to find him on the fly.  He will see the pattern we’re using and start issuing orders to neutralize it.” Embree answered.

“He’ll issue the attack order.”  Everyone on the bridge looked at Carl and he felt their gazes.  He looked up from his panel and shrugged, “It’s like what that fellow Gem said, the Major Commander has a huge ego and will not allow anyone else to make that order.  That order is his alone and his ego won’t allow him to subordinate it to anyone else.”

Leonidas stared at Carl and then said, “Am I like that?”

Carl rolled his eyes and said in fake sincerity, “Oh no, Sir.  You are different from all the others.”  Leonidas lowered his eyes as he stared at Carl and Carl shrugged, “It’s like when we were going in to take out the artillery on Regulus.  All of us were in position and most of us should have already gone in but we had to wait for you to give the order.”

“But I had to make sure everyone was organized and ready,” Leonidas said defensively

Embree chuckled, “Sir, you had trained us to operate independently of each other from the beginning.  Our units knew their targets and could have gone in as soon as we were ready but you made us wait.”

Leonidas looked at Desire and saw her shrug and then nod.  He sighed and said, “That Commander will issue the attack order.”  Carl smiled and turned back to his console.  Leonidas learned a valuable lesson that moment and would not forget it.  He thought about it and said, “Embree, connect me with Blakely.”  He waited and a few moments later, Blakely appeared on the monitor, “Yes.”

“I’m sending you the coordinates of the Romanov Fleet you’ll be facing and I want you to form up the forty units in subspace and send them into normal space simultaneously.  As soon as they enter normal space, start the pattern.”

“We need to make sure they’re all organized and in proper position when they enter normal space.”

Leo saw Carl smiling at his panel and exhaled sharply, “Do all that in subspace.  They’ve practiced the pattern before we came here and we don’t want the Romanovs to change their formation before we can start the pattern around them.”

“Are you sure about this, Leonidas.”

“I am, Captain.”

Blakely sighed, “Alright, I’ll do it your way.”

The monitor went dark and Desiree said with a smile, “Carl is right.”

Leonidas saw Carl smiling from ear to ear and he shook his head, “Carl, I am going to promote you once this is over.”

Carl’s smile immediately disappeared, “Sir, why would you punish me for giving good advice?!  You should appreciate it and leave me the hell alone.”

Leo smiled and lowered his eyes as he saw Embree lower his head to keep from laughing.  Barney stared at his monitor and fought hard to keep a straight face.  Carl saw them and said, “WHAT’S SO FREAKING FUNNY?!”  The entire bridge crew burst out laughing and Carl stared at them with a scowl on his face.

• • •

Leo looked at the tactical monitor and saw that one half of Serge’s Warships were holding station above the planet’s largest city.  It was currently on the opposite side of the planet from where the filament passed.  The other half of Serge’s ships were formed up between the planet and the closest point to the filament.  They were organized into twenty-five independent one thousand ship units arranged in five lines separated by four hundred miles between them.  Their bows were pointed toward open space where his ships would emerge from the filament and enter normal space.  There was twenty thousand miles between the filament and the planet’s current position and that would have to be navigated for the two fleets to engage in combat.  That separation would allow the forty Pirate Units to move into position as the Romanov Fleet came out to meet them.  Blakely appeared on Leo’s display, “We’re ready.”

Leo looked at Embree, “Find that ship!”  Embree nodded and Leo looked at Blakely, “Start it rolling.”  Blakely nodded and disappeared from the monitor.  Leo pressed a button, “Gem, are you ready?”

“I’ve got the initial targets programmed in.  I’m concerned about the overall Commander.”

“I’ll go after him once we locate his ship. You start taking out your targets and I’ll join in after we find that ship.”  Gem nodded and disappeared. Suddenly, the Pirate Units appeared in normal space around the Thermopylae and accelerated away.  Embree stared at his console and after a few moments that seemed to take forever he yelled, “GOT IT!!  PROGRAMING THE FIRST TWO MISSILES IN THE LAUNCH TUBES!!”

Leo looked at Desiree, who was manning the ship’s controls and yelled, “GO, GO, GO!!”

The Thermopylae and Play Toy accelerated away from the Pirate Fleets entry location with Gem going vertical and Leo diving under the advancing pirate warships.  Their ships were faster than any ships in the Pirate’s Fleet and they turned and headed toward the Romanov Fleet as it began moving out to meet the attackers.  The two ships were masked by the Pirate Warships moving toward the Romanov formations and they came roaring in from above and below the Romanov Fleets before they were detected.  Frick stared at his missile console and saw a warship glowing on his panel.  He waited as the target ship attempted to move into the rear of the advancing formations in front of it and saw the launch button go green.  He pressed it and saw two missiles leap away from the Thermopylae.

• • •

The Romanov Sensor Officer shouted, “Sir, I have an enemy vessel moving under our formations at high speed.  It will be in blaster range in less than thirty seconds!”

The Fleet Commander had been focused on the pattern being used by the incoming wave of Pirate Warships and didn’t like what he was seeing.  He had lifted his communicator to change the formations of his fleets but instead yelled, “MOVE US INSIDE THE REAR FORMATIONS NOW!!”  He felt the acceleration push him back in his chair and activated his communicator, “Attention all fleets…”  That was the only thing that was heard.  There were no ships around his vessel to slow down the two missiles tracking in and they both hit a moment apart.  The vessel exploded in a massive blast as the Romanov Fleet continued straight ahead.

• • •

Leo yelled, “YES!!”  Then he turned to Embree, “Start giving Desiree the course to the next targets.”

“Sending it now, Sir.”

The Thermopylae made a radical turn and headed across the rear of the advancing Romanov Fleet and Leo felt the ship shuddering as missiles left their launch tubes.  The Play Toy passed them in the opposite direction at high speed as the rear blasters on the ships located at the back of the advancing fleet began opening fire at them.  But they were moving too fast to be targeted effectively.  A blaster would hit them and the Thermopylae’s hardened hull would shrug it off.  “Keep us outside their blaster range, Desiree!”

Desiree stared intently at her console and shook her head, “Easier said than done; we’re about to have to penetrate their formations to go after the other Junior Fleet Leaders!”

Leo nodded, “Do the best you can, Lieutenant.”  Desiree smiled, it had been a long time she had heard Leo call her lieutenant.  It felt like she was home fighting with the Tenth Legion again.

• • •

Blakely led his unit of four hundred Pirate Warships toward the advancing fleets and just before arriving, he turned vertical and began moving over the top of the front formation.  Six hundred warships moved out of the huge formation and gave chase.  He led them around to their left flank and saw Geoffrey’s Unit coming around over the top of the Romanov Formations with a huge formation of ships pursuing him.  “Ready, Lads!  On my command, open fire as they pass overhead…FIRE!”

The ships pursuing Geoffrey’s Unit saw Blakely’s Unit at the last moment and they were ravaged by the hundreds of blaster beams hitting them from below.  By the time they managed to start targeting Blakely’s Unit, it was past them and out of range.  Another Pirate Unit blew past them from the right and opened fire on them.  When it had moved away, only a hundred and forty Romanov Warships were still operational and they were calling for orders on what to do…but no one was answering them.  Another passing Pirate Unit fired on them and there were no survivors.

But everything wasn’t roses for the Pirates.  The Units were being fired on and they were losing ships.  Blakely had lost a quarter of his Unit’s ships but still kept course on the pattern.  To break away would be suicide with all the crisscrossing ships.  He saw another Romanov Unit moving below him and he lifted his communicator, “FIRE AS WE GO BY ABOVE THEM…FIRE!!”

The Romanov Fleets were being decimated but they still carried out their orders to attack the Pirate Units they were assigned to attack.  Finally after an hour of fighting, a surviving Romanov Fleet Leader yelled, “BREAK OFF AND MOVE INTO FORMATION, BREAK OFF AND…”

The command ended abruptly as a missile hit the Fleet Leader’s vessel but the surviving warships broke off their attacks flew away at high speed, and moved into a tight formation.  Blakely saw them and said, “Hit them as they move away and back out!”

The Pirate Units rushed in and opened fire and flew out as quickly as possible.  Another eight hundred Pirate Ships were lost during the attack by the concentrated cross fire from the tight Romanov Formation.

• • •

Serge watched the attack on his monitor and was screaming at the Commander of the Fleet above Romania, “WHAT IS THAT IDIOT DOING?”

“Sir, his ship was taken out before the battle even started.  It appears that most of the other Commanders have been killed as well.  That Fleet has no leadership.”  Serge glared at him and the Fleet Leader said, “We can defeat them but you have to release me to go after them ship to ship.  We cannot chase them in formations.”

Serge’s face was red and his mouth was a rictus of rage.  The Major Fleet Commander pleaded, “Sir, I’ll leave enough ships to protect the city, you must release me to go after them!”

Serge was scared out of his wits but was too angry to think.  He forced himself to calm down and said to his assistant, “Tell my ship to prepare to lift.”

“Yes, Sir.”

He turned back to the Fleet Commander and said, “I am moving my ship above the planet where it will move into the ranks of the ships you leave behind.  Once I’m there, go and kill every single one of them!”

“Yes, Sir.”

• • •

Leo looked at his tactical monitor and saw the surviving Romanov Warships holding tight formation and opening a combined blaster barrage at any pirate ship that came close to them.  Blakely appeared on his monitor, “I’ve reformed the units.”

“How many ships do we have?” Leo asked.

“We’ve lost about four thousand.”

“It appears we’ve destroyed about fifteen thousand of their warships.”

“What are they doing?”

Leonidas stared at the Romanov formation a thousand miles away on his monitor and said, “I’m not really sure.”

Embree looked up from his panel and said, “Sir, I have high numbers of warships moving around the planet and moving in our direction.  They are not in formation but are scattered in a massive wave.”

Leo sighed, “That other Senior Fleet Commander is ordering all of his ships to come out and attack us ship-to-ship.”

Gem appeared on the monitor with Blakely, “The pattern will no longer work.”

“What are we going to do?!” Blakely asked.

Leo sighed and said, “Our purpose in coming here was to reduce their numbers enough such that Serge wouldn’t be able to control the galaxy or leave and attack Tortuga.  He still has enough ships to make that happen.  We can’t win this fight but we can cripple him enough to make it worth doing if we stay and destroy as many of his ships as possible.”

Blakely shook his head, “No one should be forced to stay and die.”

“Notify all our ships what’s happening and allow those that wish to leave to do so.”

Blakely began speaking over the general frequency and Leo saw the surviving Romanov Warships holding formation start charging their blasters.  Once the twenty thousand ships from the planet arrived, they would join the massive wave and overwhelm them.  Leo looked at his bridge crew and said, “I can’t force you to give up your lives.  Ask the crew to vote on whether or not we stay.”

Embree started speaking over the intercom and after a few minutes he looked at them, “Sir, they say that they will stay with you whatever your decision.”

Leo looked at Carl, “What do you say, Carl.”

“Sir, I should have died about six wars ago.  I’ve been living on borrowed time and I personally want to kick this Romanov’s backside into next week.”  Carl reached in his console and took a small bag out of it.  He held it up where Leonidas could see it, “I went back and collected some of the dirt I was hugging when you ordered me to attack those blaster bunkers just after you were promoted to Lieutenant.  If I had stayed in the dirt, none of us would be here today.  I’m in it till the end.”

Desiree, Barney, and Embree nodded.  Leo looked at Gem, “We can at least help knock down the numbers.  I’m taking the Thermopylae and I’m launching all my remaining missiles at the ships holding formation in front of me.”

“I will join you.”

Leo looked at Gem on the monitor, “Thank you, Gem.”

Gem smiled, “It’s been my pleasure, Captain.”

Leo lifted his communicator, “Attention all missile crews, we’re advancing on the Romanov formation in front of us and firing the remaining store of missiles as we fly around the formation.  Boost in twenty seconds.”

Leo looked at Desiree, “I love you.”

Desiree’s eyes moistened and she smiled, “I love you, too.”

Leonidas turned around and said, “Now I understand what the original Leonidas went through at Thermopylae.  Impossible odds, no chance of winning, but he fought until the end and saved Greece.  It’s my turn now.  GO, Desiree!”  The Thermopylae leapt forward and headed toward the waiting Romanov Formation.

• • •

Blakely stopped addressing the surviving Pirate Ships and some began turning away as the Thermopylae and Play Toy accelerated toward the Romanov survivors.  They watched as they moved around the formation firing thousands of missiles into it and Romanov Warships began going up in giant explosions.  He heard over his speakers pirates yelling, “That’s suicide.  He’s crazy!”

Blakely watched and said to his pilot, “Boost the ship, we’re going in.”  Blakely accelerated out of the Pirate formation and after a brief moment, the other ships joined him.  Geoffrey yelled to his crew, “Who wants to live forever!?!”  He screamed a pirate yell and his ship went to maximum speed.”

• • •

The Romanov survivors were packed so tightly in formation that huge numbers of them were destroyed by the vessels close by blowing up.  The twenty thousand warships rushing forward from the planet saw the destruction and went to full speed.

• • •

Blakely stared at the oncoming wave of Romanov Warships and suddenly heard over the loudspeakers, “WHAT THE HELL!!”

He looked at his monitor and saw thousands of sleek silver colored warships passing his ship like he was standing motionless.  They passed the blasted remains of the Romanov survivors and paused only long enough to fire missiles at any Romanov Warship that was still operational.  More than twelve thousands of the sleek warships accelerated toward the second Romanov fleet and launched a massive barrage of missiles at the oncoming Romanov Wave moving toward them.  The Senior Fleet Commander saw the wave of missiles coming at him at incredible speed and suddenly realized that the ships moving in on his fleet were from the Insectoid Planets.  He shook his head and sighed as his ship went up in a massive blast.

• • •

Leonidas hear Carl yell, “I HAVE THOUSANDS OF WARSHIPS ENTERING NORMAL SPACE AND HEADED OUR WAY!!”

Leo hit his communicator, “Gem, break away, break away!!”

The Play Toy and Thermopylae turned away from the Romanov survivors and turned to meet the on rushing wave on new warships.  Embree looked up from his panel, “They’re Insectoid Warships!!”

“Blakely, pull up and stay out of the way of the Insectoid Fleet!!” Desiree shouted over the fleet frequency.  The thousands of surviving Pirate Warships came to a stop and watched as the Insectoid Fleet began pulverizing the remaining Romanov Warships.

“Is that what those ships are?” Blakely asked.

“Yes!” Leo answered.

Gem and Ana appeared on the wall monitor as Gold came rushing on the bridge.  He said, “The Queen has sent the fleet to bring the Prince back home!”  He looked up at the wall monitor and saw Ana put her arms around a human.  He heard Leonidas say, “What are you going to do, Gem?”

The man on the monitor said, “What’s done is done.  I will not go back and leave Ana.”

Suddenly, Gold’s communicator activated and everyone heard, “I have come to take the Prince back to the Queen.  I have been unable to find him on any of my scans.”

Gold looked up at Gem on the wall monitor and saw Ana holding him tightly with tears in her eyes.  Gold lifted his communicator, “The Prince chose to command of one of our attack units and his ship was destroyed during the battle.  If you had only arrived an hour ago, he would still be alive.”

The Insectoid Fleet Commander appeared on the wall monitor next to Gem and Ana’s image and said, “Where was his ship when it was destroyed.  We will take his remains back to be buried in honor befitting a member of the Royal Family.”

Gold tilted his head right, “His ship was disabled by two blaster beams and then eight more ships opened fire on it vaporizing the ship.  Nothing remains of it.”

“I intend to do a thorough investigation.  I will scan everything on and around this planet.”

• • •

The thousands of Insectoid Warships spread out and began moving toward Romania.  Serge knew he stood no chance of escaping them and ordered his ship back to the ground.  The Fleet Commander saw the thousands of advanced warships moving his way and made a critical decision, “Attention all ships, shut down your weapon systems and cut power to all systems but environmental.  No one will make any move, activate a weapon, or any other reaction unless I directly order it!”

• • •

Carl turned around and looked at Leo, “Sir, the warships above the planet are shutting down their defenses.”

Leo pressed his communicator, “Blakely, move the fleet in behind the Insectoids and surround the Romanov Warships above the planet!  Get moving quickly!  Gem follow me and get there as quickly as possible.”

“What are you planning?”

“To take advantage of the situation.”

• • •

The five thousand Romanov Warships watched the thousands of Insectoid Warships move into orbit above Romania and then begin spreading out above the planet running scans of the planet’s surface.  The surviving Romanov Fleet Commander’s Communications Leader said, “Sir, I have two of the advanced Pirate ships arriving and the others will be here in five minutes.  What do you want us to do?”

The Commander saw he was in a bad situation.  If he activated his defenses, the Insectoids would launch those killer missiles at his fleet.  If he didn’t, he’d be wide open for the Pirates to attack.  He pressed his communicator, “You will keep your defenses shutdown unless you are fired on!”

He sat back in his chair and a few minutes later, a man appeared on his console.  “It appears you are in a bad place.  I am going to offer you a way to live and I really hope you take it.”

“What is that?” The Romanov Fleet Commander asked as he activated the Fleet’s general frequency.

“You will order the crews on all your warships to board their shuttles and leave for the planet’s surface.”

“I’ll be killed if I do that.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much about that.  We intend to handle Mr. Romanov before that becomes an issue.  However, you will be killed if you stay on your ships.  I have all of your ships targeted with multiple blasters and I will fire on you if you don’t agree to leave.”

The Fleet Commander knew he was in a no-win situation but he wasn’t going to die trying to be a hero.  “I will do as you ask.”

“One more thing, if you activate even one self-destruct circuit on your ships, I will order my ships to follow your shuttles to the planet and vaporize the city you land in, am I clear!!”

“Yes.”  The Fleet Commander had opened the general fleet frequency during his conversation with the pirate where all of the ships under his command could hear the conversation.  Before he could issue orders, shuttles were already leaving his fleet and headed toward the planet.  By the time the insectoids completed their scans, the five thousand warships were empty of all the crews.

The Insectoid Fleet Commander appeared on Leo and Gem’s monitors, “It appears we have suffered a great loss.  The Prince was the best of us and I know the Queen is going to be greatly upset.”

“Why did you delay so long in coming?” Leonidas asked.

“The Queen felt that the humans had it coming for putting her planet in danger.”

“What changed her mind?”

“The Prince sent her a recorded message telling her that humans were much like our species.  He said that some of us refuse to see differences between members of other species and some of us see them clearly.  Some of us won’t fight for honor and some of us will die for it.  She was very upset and ordered us to leave immediately.  If the Prince had sent the message earlier, we would have probably arrived in time to save him.”

“Tell your Queen that I am truly thankful for her support and I’m sorry for her loss.”

The Fleet Leader turned his head left acknowledging Leo’s comment and said, “There is another one of us with you.  The Queen has ordered me to bring him back with us.”

Gold was listening to the conversation and stepped behind Leonidas where he could be seen, “If you would send a shuttle…”

“I’m launching one now.  I am also leaving a transport close to the filament in normal space with enough missiles to resupply your two ships.”  Gold tilted his head and the Fleet Leader said, “The Prince said in his message that you would be using all of your inventory to kill the ones that put us in danger.  I think it was that comment that changed her mind.”

Leo smiled, “Tell her we greatly appreciate it.  We did exhaust our inventory.”

The display went dark and Gold looked up at the monitor with Gem and Ana on it, “I am going to miss you, Majesty.”

“And I you, Gold.”

Gold turned to Leonidas, “I’ve never thanked you for having that conversation with me about valuing other beings as much as I do my own species.  I’ve learned that everyone I’ve been with here are honorable beings and you changed the way I see the universe around me.  Thank you.”

“I wish you could stay.”

Gold clacked, “At some level, so do I.  But my destiny lies with my people.  I hope we’ll see each other again; it is, after all, a small universe.”

Leo smiled and Gold left the bridge for the landing bay to board the arriving shuttle.  Blakely appeared on his monitor and said, “What are you planning to do with these warships.”

Leonidas shrugged, “Some of our Leaders have sustained damage to their ships.  The ones that have the most damage will replace their ship with one of these.”

“You know that’s going to cause a fight.  Everyone is going to want one of these new modern warships whether or not their ship was damaged.”

“Then send enough crews to fly the ships back to Tortuga and the Council can decide how to distribute them.”

“What do we do now?” Blakely asked.

Leo looked at Embree, “Can we send a message to the planet that will be heard by pretty much everyone.”

“I can power it so that it comes in on every communication device.”

“Tell me when it’s ready.  Ana, it’s your show now.”

“What?”

“You are the only surviving beneficiary of Serge Romanov and you are a Romanov.  Tell the planet what’s going to happen if we meet resistance going down to take him into custody.”

Ana smiled as Embree looked up from his console, “The channel is set up.  I’m going to relay anything you say to the planet.”

Ana lifted her communicator’s microphone and began speaking.

• • •

Serge sat in his office and was issuing orders to his ground forces to prepare to repel attackers.  The wall monitor illuminated and he saw that blonde appear on it.  The Commander of Serge’s ground troops stopped and looked at the monitor with Serge.

My name is Ana Romanov and I am the adopted daughter of Serge Romanov.  I have come here with a fleet of warships and we have destroyed all of the ships my father had to defend Romania.  We are currently in orbit above the planet with more than ten thousand heavily armed warships.  I want to make something very clear to you.  I am sending three individuals down to the planet to take Serge Romanov into custody to pay for his crimes.  If you do anything, and I do mean anything, to hinder us, the fleet has been ordered to raze the city Serge is currently in to the ground.  The fleet will then bombard the rest of the planet and it will appear very much like Cruet after Serge destroyed it.”

Serge’s eyes narrowed and he turned to his Troop Commander, “Get our men organized and prepared to stop them!”

The Commander was staring at the monitor as Ana’s image disappeared and he turned to Serge and pulled his hand blaster out of its holster, “Come with me, Sir.”

“WHAT!?!”

“You will not cause the destruction of this planet.  Now get up and start walking or I’ll deliver your body to them.”  Serge was too frightened to move.  The Commander nodded to two soldiers and they went to Serge, grabbed him by the arms, and roughly pulled him to his feet.  They left the office and headed toward the elevator to take them up to ground level.  Serge was hiding in his armored bunker far underground, which would now do him no good.

• • •

Ana, Desiree, and Leonidas arrived on a shuttle and stepped out in front of Serge’s Headquarters’ Building.  They had been notified by the Commander that Serge was under arrest and was waiting for them to come and take him.  A large crowd was gathering but they stayed far away from the shuttle.  No one was going to risk causing a planetary bombardment.  The two soldiers held Serge by the arms as Ana walked up followed by Desiree and Leonidas.  Ana looked at him, “Serge, you look tired.”

“What, are you too good to call me father?”

“You are my adopted father, but I was little more than a tool you intended to eventually throw away.  Like you did my sister.”

Serge sneered, “I should have killed you long ago.  But you were a dutiful child.  What are you going to do with me?”

Ana’s eyes narrowed as Desiree walked forward and pushed Ana aside, “Do you remember at the restaurant where I told you that I could kill you before your body guards could save you?”  Serge’s head went back and he nodded.  In an instant, Desiree’s sword took his head off.  Ana screamed, “HE WAS MINE!!!”

Leonidas grabbed Ana and held her back from Desiree as he shouted to her, “You couldn’t do it, Ana!!”

“I’ve dreamed of doing nothing else!!”

“But if you did, what would happen as a result of your actions?”

Ana looked at Leo with an expression of rage on her face, “What are you talking about!?”

“Ana, you are the sole beneficiary of Serge.  If you killed him, you would lose your inheritance.  This planet needs you to get it straightened out and to remove all the teleportation devices still here!  If you can’t take the planet, then chaos will follow and who knows what will happen with all those teleportation modules.”

Ana was taking deep breaths and the Troop Commander said, “You are now in command of my forces, Miss Romanov.  What are your orders?”

Ana stared at him and turned to Desiree, “This is the second time you’ve stopped me from making a foolish mistake.  Thank you.”

Desiree rushed forward and hugged Ana, “I’m so sorry I stopped you but the people on this planet shouldn’t die like those on Cruet.”

Ana nodded and turned to the Commander, “I want every major leader on the planet here tomorrow to meet with me.”

“I will start notifying them immediately.”

Ana looked at Leo, “Do you have the frequency in your communicator that Serge used to contact you to make the contract?”

Leo pulled out his communicator and began scrolling.  He looked up, “Yes, I have it.”

“Please allow me to use your communicator.”  Leo shrugged and handed it to Ana.  She pressed the button and waited.  After a long moment, the display activated.  Ana said to Romanov’s Security Chief, “It appears you missed all the fun.”

“Not really.  Once Serge decided to go through with his plan, nothing was fun anymore.  May I assume he has paid for his sins?”

“You may.”

“Why are you contacting me?  Am I next on your list?”

“No, I want to make a contract with you.”

“Say what?”

“I am going to issue a full pardon for you provided you do what I want done.”

“I don’t know that you have the authority to issue pardons in the new order we live in.”

“I can issue them on Romania.”

“Well, I suppose that’s true.  What do you want?”

Ana stared at Serge’s former Chief of Security and said, “I need you to come back here and get this planet reorganized.  I want all the teleportation devices along with all vestiges of the technology removed from Romania.  You will run the planet and report in to me regularly.”

“I was actually planning to take my savings and run to another galaxy.”

“Won’t happen.”

“Why not?”

“My real father is now in charge at the Treasury on Kellinger and I’ve ordered him to freeze your assets.  Besides, you’d always be looking over your shoulder fearing someone was coming to kill you.  This way you won’t have to worry about it.”

“Why do you want me?” the Chief asked with a puzzled expression.

“Because you know the structure here better than anyone on the planet and I firmly believe you know it even better than Serge did.  You can use this time to try and atone for what was done.  I would have asked my sister to assist you but she’s one of Serge’s victims.”

The Chief inhaled deeply and said, “No, she’s not.”

Ana’s eyes narrowed as her mouth fell open, “WHAT?”

“Serge would have killed me if he knew but I just couldn’t bring myself to execute her and her baby.  Serge took her husband and had his technicians kill him under questioning but I decided to send her and her baby to Lyris to hide.  I took them myself and gave them enough funds to live under an assumed identity.  With all the tourism on Lyris, she would be safely hidden.”

“Are you serious?” Ana asked with tears in her eyes.

“I really don’t have much choice about accepting your offer, so I’ll pick her up on the way to Romania.”

Ana was openly weeping and Desiree put her arm around her.  “I always knew you were not evil like Serge but had a good heart.  I will wait for your arrival.”

“I tried to convince him not to go through with his plan but arrogance and greed were his closest advisors.  But I’m sure you already knew that.”

“I’ll be waiting for you.  Thank you for saving my family!”  The call ended and Ana put her head on Desiree’s shoulder and wept.  Her sister was alive!

Chapter Twenty-Five

The inhabited planets heard the news about Serge Romanov’s death along with the destruction of all the teleportation units on Romanov.  The new Leader on Romania assured the planets that teleportation technology was being eliminated and would not be used in the future.  The planets sent representatives to Romania and hammered out how the planets would work together moving forward; they unanimously designated Kellinger as the planet that would oversee the currency and economic issues that arose between them.  Three years later, a new central government was formed and the site of the capital building was built on Kellinger.  Ana’s father was elected its first President.

When Gold arrived back on the Insectoid Planet, he was called in to meet with the Queen.  She questioned him at length for a solid week and before announcing that the Prince had suggested to her that Gold was the best one to lead after the Queen’s reign ended.  He was made a member of the Royal Family and learned after a few years why Gem hated being Prince.  He was ruling when the new Central Government was formed and decided that the Insectoids would join the other planets in its formation and became a productive member of the new Assembly.  Their technology made them the richest planets in the galaxy.  None of this would have happened if not for the Pirates of Tortuga.  They forged a peaceful time for the inhabited planets to gain their equilibrium and move forward.

• • •

Blakely sat at the Council Table and stared out at the area.  There were many empty places where crews had died in the battle against the Romanov Fleets.  The new warships had been distributed and the entire assembly had approved the manner in which it was done.  The Pirates had come together in the fire and blood of the fight against Romania and they were now truly a brotherhood that only a shared sacrifice could bring about.  But now it was time to get back to business as usual and to go out and start attacking commercial ships again.  He lifted the microphone and said, “The last order of business is Captain Leonidas Alexander has requested to address our assembly.”  The entire arena burst into cheers as Leonidas approached the Council and took the microphone from Blakely.  He turned and looked out at the arena and smiled.  He was one of them now.  He wasn’t aware of it but one of the Councilors had turned in his resignation and the Assembly had unanimously chosen him to serve on the Council before he had come back from Romania.

The cheers only grew louder and louder until Leonidas lifted his arms.  They still rained down cheers on him until Blakely reluctantly sounded the tone.  The arena became silent and Leonidas said, “I asked to speak to you because I want you to consider a new future.”  The Pirates all looked at Blakely and he shrugged telling them he didn’t know what was going on.

Leo looked around the arena and said, “All of us have a decision to make.  While I’ve been away, I’ve been in contact with most of the large Commercial Planets in our galaxy.  They are greatly concerned now that the Unity has been destroyed, their ships will be in great jeopardy from us.  There is real fear that trade between the planets will be greatly reduced because there is no force out there to stop us from taking any ship we choose.”

Blakely said from the raised dais, “That is a good thing.”

Leo turned around and looked at him, “Yes, it does make our efforts a lot easier.  However, the Commercial Planets have been discussing arming their ships.  They will face a huge expense in making that happen but they see no other way around it.  They have also seen an influx of new Pirate Warships arriving from other galaxies here because of the current situation.  I offered them another way to get their ships safely to their destinations.”

Blakely looked at Leonidas with concern, “Are the Insectoids going to escort them?”

Leo saw the attendees grow nervous at that comment.  “No, we are.”

The arena was stunned into silence and one of the members of The Council said loudly, “WHAT!!”

Leo looked out at the arena, “Consider this.  If you attack a freighter and take its cargo, you will only be paid for about ten percent of its worth.  All of the inhabited planets have agreed to no longer buy stolen products from ships that have been attacked.  If you find a buyer for your booty, the price is going to be even lower, it will not be a seller’s market.  For the moment, the commercial ships will be easily taken until all the commercial ships you have to face are armed with blasters to defend them against us.  That will lead to many of us being put in harm’s way.”

Blakely shouted, “What are you suggesting?”

“The influx of new pirates from other galaxies offers us a rare opportunity.  I have spoken with most of the largest commercial companies and they have agreed to pay us twenty percent of the value of a freighter’s cargo to insure it arrives at its destination.”

The room was shocked silent.  Then they started murmuring among themselves.  Leo smiled, “I know what most of you are thinking.  How can you make a good living doing this?  Consider this; we have about twelve thousand ships that survived the fight with the Romanovs.  According to the statistics given to me by the major commercial planets, there are about twenty eight thousand ships transporting goods every week in the galaxy. Every ship here would be needed to escort at least two commercial ships a week and once trade starts to pick up again, that number could double.  None of us have taken two ships a week, ever.  And you would not have to fight to collect your payments.  You wouldn’t have to transport the cargo you’ve taken to a potential buyer taking time away from making credits.  The only danger you would have to face is one of these new pirates that are flooding into our galaxy and I hear from initial reports that their ships are not armed with blasters on their hulls, yet.  I’ve had one of my officers to come up with a list of ships that need escorts and every ship here has more than fifteen waiting for you to start escorting immediately.”

Blakely was shaking his head and Leonidas said softly into the silence that filled the arena, “But one thing must be understood by everyone if we choose to do this.  If anyone attacks a ship they’re escorting, the commercial planets will lose all trust in us and we’ll lose our contracts.”

A pirate yelled out from the upper floor, “Why do they trust us in the first place?”

Leo looked up at the Pirate and said, “Because we went to their defense and removed Serge Romanov before he could destroy them.  That act of bravery going against impossible odds and removing a demonic threat against them has led to them admiring us.  This is a moment in time that can change everything we are and make us rich in the process.  A small freighter’s cargo is normally valued at a hundred thousand credits and you will be getting twenty thousand credits to escort it to its destination and you will be paid immediately upon arrival.  At that moment, you will have another ship to escort from that destination to another; forty thousand credits in less than three days.”

The arena was silent.  Blakely stared at Leo and said, “We’ll no longer be Pirates.”

Leo shrugged, “That’s true.  But if you really, truly miss it, take some time off and go to another galaxy and have at it.  However, this is all or nothing.  Either we all agree to do this or we don’t.  We can’t have piracy being done by ships from Fellowship and keep our contracts.”

Blakely looked at Leonidas and held out his hand.  Leonidas handed him the microphone and said, “You will discuss this with your crews now.  We will vote on this after the discussion but this time everyone here will vote, not just the Ship and Fleet Commanders.  Please turn on your light when you have reached a decision.”

Leonidas went to his chair and waited.  Soon he began seeing red lights start appearing at each crews section.  The discussion only took thirty minutes until all the lights were on.  Blakely looked out and said, “Each Commander enter the results of your votes and send them to my console.”  The lights all began flashing once and going out.  Blakely looked at his panel and stood up, “All ships but three have voted for Leonidas’ offer.  Blakely looked over to the right side of the arena where the crews of the three ships were located and said, “You realize that you will have to leave Tortuga as a result of your decision?”

The Fleet Commander of the three ships stood up and shouted, “We do.  We have been planning to go back to the galaxy we originally came from and visit with our relatives there.  We voted no because we cannot participate in escorting other ships.  However, we do hope we will be welcomed back if we choose to return.”

“Are you willing to give up your pirating ways?”

“We are and we wish all of our brothers long life, wealth, and happiness in our absence.”

Blakely looked out at the group and started to speak but Leonidas shouted, “There is one more issue!”

Blakely closed his mouth and took a microphone from the Council Member to his right, “Damn this passing it back and forth.”

He handed one of the microphones to Leonidas and he said, “I am asking that ten percent of what every ship makes be placed in an account here on Tortuga.”

Blakely’s head went back, “Why?”

“Because now that we’re no longer pirates, we can live wherever we choose and don’t have to stay here in Fellowship.  I want those credits that are placed in the account to be used to build luxury living quarters for all of us and to make improvements to our city so that no one will ever want to leave here.  I want Fellowship to be the envy of the galaxy.”

A Tortugan Official walked up to Leonidas, “May I speak.”  Leo handed him the Microphone and the official said in a clear voice, “We will undertake the building of a space port to service your ships that is also the envy of the galaxy.  Since you are no longer law breakers, we will also be removing the restrictions of your having to remain inside the city limits of Fellowship.  You are welcome to travel anywhere on Tortuga and live wherever you choose.  All of my people honor you for saving them from the Romanovs.  And for a change, we will be paying you to escort our ships as well.”

Blakely smiled and looked out at the gathering, “All in favor of putting ten percent into an account…”  The room exploded in shouts and cheering.  Blakely sounded the tone and when the room grew silent he asked, “And those opposed?”  The room remained silent.  Blakely looked at Leonidas, “Do you have any ships that need an escort?”

“I’ll have my Communications Officer send every ship here two weeks of scheduled commercial ships waiting for us to arrive.”

Blakely smiled and looked out at the assembly, “BROTHERS, LETS GO TO WORK!”

The arena exploded into cheers again and Blakely jumped off the platform and walked over to Leonidas, “You stole the show!”

“Thanks, John.”

“Where are all of these new pirates coming from?”

“One of the owners of a large company says that the captain of one of his ships that was pirated says that the leader of the attackers said they came from Earth.”

“EARTH?”

“I don’t know if that’s true but he insists that the pirate claimed to be former military and was forced into pirating when the organization he was working for was wiped out.”

“That’s interesting.  Why didn’t the Insectoids decide to do the escorting?”

Leo shrugged, “In simple terms, they see it as beneath them.  They aren’t driven by greed as much as humans are and just see escorting ships as unnecessary work.”

“Are you going to be doing any escorting?”

“No, my wife and I are wealthy and really don’t need to work another day in our lives.  However, I am assigning my bridge crew to handle the scheduling of escorts and they will be paid out of the fund being set up here on Tortuga.”

“That’s wise.  Will they be living here?”

“Yes.”

“Did I hear you correctly, wife?”

Leo smiled, “Yes, Desiree Daniels and I were married on Romania after Ana took possession of the planet.”

“Were there any problems with that?”

“The courts wanted proof she was actually Ana Romanov, so she had to provide a blood sample to prove it.  Her outer body was different DNA but her blood matched the records as being Ana’s.  The Troop Commander also testified that Serge Romanov called her his daughter just before he was killed.”

Blakely nodded and said, “Just how long do you think this escort gig is going to last?”

“Long enough for everyone here to become independently wealthy.  Eventually, the government will call for Romania to start building teleportation modules.”

“Why would they do that?”

“Why send a huge freighter across hundreds of thousands of light years when you can just put your cargo in a box and have it instantly appear at its destination?  It is going to take a long time before the planets eventually decide they can trust each other but it will happen in the future.”

“That means Romania will become incredibly wealthy.”

“It already is.  Romania won’t overprice teleportation technology.”

“So travel by starships will eventually come to an end.”

“Not really.”

“Why not?” Blakely asked.

“Because this is just one galaxy among a hundred billion others.  If you desire to go to another galaxy, a starship is required to make it happen.”  Blakely shrugged and Leonidas looked up at the night sky as they walked out of the arena, “One must also understand that there are other dangers out there that a teleporting system cannot handle.  If conquering warships from another galaxy arrive, they will have to be faced by our best ships.”

Blakely nodded, “I didn’t see that.  Do you think that’s a possibility?”

“All it takes is one in a hundred billion.  I think statistics pretty much say it will happen eventually.  We will need to be ready in the event it does.  The inhabited planets will see it, too, and have to possess a defense fleet to fend off any would be invaders.  I suspect that is where the Insectoids will make a huge difference.”

Blakely stopped walking and looked at Leo, “From the sound of your voice, I think you’re hoping it does.”

Leo smiled, “I’ve never been as alive as I am in the middle of a fight to the death.  I’m a warrior at heart and if it doesn’t happen here in this galaxy, I may just have to head out to another galaxy and find it.”

Blakely stared at him for a long moment and smiled, “Give me some time to make some credits and don’t leave without me.”

Leonidas laughed out loud and slapped him on the back, “I won’t go without you, Brother.”

Blakely nodded, “Make sure you don’t!”

Epilogue

Several years later, Gold contacted Gem, “I’m sorry about your mother.”

“I’m sorry that I never had the opportunity to speak with her again.”

“If you tried, you would have been brought back.”

Gem sighed, “I know.”

“By the way, congratulations on your son and daughter.”

Gem smiled, “The twins are really something else.”  Gem paused and said, “Why have you contacted me?”

“I’ve had the metal in your sword in my thoughts lately.”

“I can understand why.”

“I want you to go out and see if you can find out how we can procure it.”

“Why don’t you send some of your ships to investigate it?”

“Because it does appear that the planet where it’s located is populated by humans.  I think you would be accepted much quicker than any of us.”

Gem nodded, “You make a good point.  I’ve been doing some research and the planet that metal is supposed to be located on is a very dangerous place to go.”

“I’ve built you and Leonidas new ships.”

“What?”

“The ones you currently possess are now far behind our newest ships technologically.  I planned all along to build them as soon as I assumed the throne.  They’ve been completed and ready for you to come and pick them up.”

“Why are you doing this?  Something must have happened?”

“I learned a huge lesson while I was with the humans.  I learned that the universe is bigger than just this galaxy and something nasty could arise that could be threatening.”

“You’ve been sending disguised ships to other galaxies.”

“I have.”

And what did you discover?”

“Someone has developed a force field.”

“WHAT?”

“Don’t be surprised, if teleportation is possible, why wouldn’t a force field be a possibility?  Anyway, we’ve not found a ship with one yet but the rumors are persistent.   I need some agents to go out that aren’t bound by single-species thought processes.  Will you do it?”

“I need a third ship.”

“Why?”

Leonidas has said several times over the last two years that if he goes out looking around for trouble, he’s taking John Blakely with him.”

Gold stared at Gem for a long moment and then clacked, “The third ship will be ready in two months.  Where are you going to start?”

“Where it all began, on Jester.  I’ll let Leonidas know that I need him to take a trip with me in a couple of months and I’m pretty sure he’s jump at the opportunity.  He’s pretty bored at the moment.”

“Will your wife allow you to go?”

“She’ll come with me.  Her sister and that former Romanov Head of Security were recently married and they’re running the planet unassisted.  Ana is about bored to tears as well.  It’ll be good to get out.”

“What about your children?”

“Where we go, they go.  How could I raise them properly if I don’t take them with me?”

“You will stay in touch!”

Gem smiled, “I’m going to bring a teleport module with me when I pick up the ships and you can keep it under wraps.  I’ll send you reports through the module and if it becomes a necessity, you can teleport out and join me.”

“Oh that would be heaven to get away from here.  I’ve not told you that putting me in your place was not a favor!”

“I know, but you’re the best one for the job.”

“Other than you.”

Gem smiled, “I wasn’t available; you were.”

“Point taken.  I’ll see you in three months.”

“I look forward to it, my friend.”

Gold clacked, “I’ve missed you.  I look forward to it as well.

THE END

Copyright © 2016 by Saxon Andrew. All rights reserved. Screen Writers Guild no. VQEA3E380432.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author or publisher.

First Electronic Edition: August 2016