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  Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh sounds came from the platform. Brad turned toward the sound and saw three elongated tubes that had been ejected below them flying away from the vehicle toward an empty area of space. “It looks like our new best friends have abandoned ship, already.”

  “They sent us a message that the platform will shut down in twenty minutes and the atmosphere will begin to degrade.”

  “We’ll be off this platform soon,” Brad insisted as he grabbed his tablet. He thought about leaving the golf course as a souvenir for the Aneplé to find as a joke but was concerned it would leave too many questions for them and didn’t want to risk their curiosity. He reprogrammed the platform to compress to an empty gray space after they left.

  “I’m not happy to have to go into hibernation. But after watching the waves of vehicles exit the battle cruiser, Griken has no other choice, other than to execute the orders. At least, if we are hibernating together we would be woken up at the same time and be able to retrieve Dane together. You might not agree, but I believe this is the better option than confront the Aneplé with an inadequately armed Swarm Defender since Griken is too far back to provide any combat support.” Looking back at the vehicle, “You removed the family picture? Are you almost ready?”

  “Just about. As much as I love that picture of us, I needed to replace it with the camouflage matching the space beyond the atmospheric shield, standard procedures for flights within enemy tactical reach. I’m just about finished with my preflight check.” Brad explained as he completed his review of the readings from the sensors. “Hop in.”

  Shinny placed the few items they were keeping behind her seat along with her armor and personal shield tucked in a small pouch. She leaned into her seat as it adjusted for her.

  Brad glanced over toward his wife and saw she was secured in her seat. “Ready?” At her nod, he lowered the canopy and started the vehicle’s engine. He sent a signal to the transportation platform. As the shield supporting the atmosphere disappeared, he moved forward, incrementally increasing his speed, heading in the direction of the pods and away from the Kisskalu. Brad pulled up the viewer and watched the vehicles behind him continue to fly in a haphazard manner, fanning out across the nexus. Two Swarm Defenders flew close to each other. He picked up their signals and waited. “Just a little closer,” he whispered. He wondered where they had learned to fly or if they even went through formal training.

  “What did you say?” Shinny asked.

  “Two Swarm Defenders behind us are getting a little too close. I’m waiting for someone to be ejected in the interest of CIG safety.”

  “Okay.” She leaned back with her eyes closed, not paying attention, waiting for Brad to initiate hibernation procedures.

  The Swarm Defenders ejected the pilots and shut down as he predicted. He smiled to himself as he quickly changed the signal his vehicle emitted to one of the vehicles that had just shut down. He made a sharp U-turn and headed back toward the Kisskalu.

  Shinny opened her eyes in response to the sharp turn. The battle cruiser grew larger as they approached it. “What the hell are you doing?”

  “I can’t take us into hibernation. I’m trying to come up with a third course of action.”

  “What do you mean a third course of action? We were ordered to go into hibernation if we couldn’t make it back to the Zuonopy,” she snapped at him.

  “I can’t do it at this time.”

  “What the hell are you doing? You are going to get us killed. I thought you were past your issues with hibernation.”

  “I am. I had to go through hibernation to get my Swarm Defender insignia. But this has nothing to do with it.”

  “I’m ordering you to turn this vehicle around and initiate hibernation.”

  “Are you pulling rank on me?”

  “Are you trying to irritate me? Yes, I’m pulling rank on you, but when you get down to it, Admiral Griken ordered us to hibernate and it was within reason. What you are doing is not; what you are doing is going rogue,” she shouted, as she attempted to access the vehicle’s controls to initiate hibernation. “Damn it, you locked me out. You know I can hack the vehicle’s systems.”

  “Shinny, I’m sorry, I’ll give you access in a moment,” apologized Brad. “Before I give you access, look at what the Aneplé vehicles in the forward position are doing.” He unlocked her access to the vehicle. Brad had not intended to lock her out, but he needed to slow her down so she could see what the vehicles were doing.

  Shinny pulled up the sensors and video feed of the Aneplé vehicles and gasped, “Why didn’t you explain this to me?”

  “I was stuck between taking immediate action and being too late to do anything meaningful. I couldn’t even say this was their intention when I understood what I needed to do because the vehicles were only exiting the Kisskalu. I’ve given you access to the vehicle’s command functions. We are in a position where I could turn around and hibernate or continue. Give the order.”

  Shinny watched the Aneplé vehicles continue their destruction of the pods. Taking a deep breath, she admitted, “I don’t know if this is any better but I now see hibernating is not the right decision. Perhaps it will buy us more time to figure out a viable alternative. I support your actions. Send an encrypted message to the Zuonopy.”

  The communications officer read the decrypted message. He wasn’t sure what it meant but he passed it immediately.

  Admiral Griken, Major Johnson and I will be taking a tour of the Kisskalu. Catch you on the flip-flop.

  Griken walked over to Connor with the decrypted message on his tablet. He showed the message to Connor. “What does this mean?”

  Connor read the message and laughed. “It looks like he decided to fly onto the Kisskalu and is expecting you to return to pick him up.”

  Griken walked toward the main screen. “Helmsmen, bring up a close-up view of the Kisskalu.” Griken wasn’t sure what was more interesting, the ugly bulges hanging off the cruiser or the Swarm Defender flying straight at it knowing that Johnson was piloting it. If Johnson made it back, Griken would owe him at least a case of beer. But that was a big if. Griken turned around and saw Connor impassively watching the Swarm Defender. For the moment, Connor’s daughter and son appeared to have escaped the fate of the pods, but he wasn’t convinced this was better. Griken noticed the tall intelligence chief standing stiffly next to Connor and walked toward them.

  Commander Tipaly Rontue and her subordinates would focus on the pieces of information constantly pouring into their databases and putting them together like a picture to produce an intelligence estimate. Since the treaty, it had become harder and harder to put the pictures together no matter how many hours they spent on a problem. Looking at the collage of scenes on the command screen being picked up by their sensors, this was a major Intelligence failure that needed to be owned by her and her team. She knew what was coming next and could not blame the admiral. She did wonder, though, if Connor’s presence meant the end of her career, even with her distant familial relationship. She turned to face her commanding officer. “Admiral Griken, you requested my presence on the bridge.”

  Commander Rontue did not look happy being called up to the bridge, nor did she look like she had slept in days, but Griken felt no sympathy for her. She was in a better situation than the pilots he was forced to leave in hibernation. “I don’t think I need to tell you how unhappy I am that the Aneplé showed up with the Kisskalu. What happened to Intel’s tracking of major ship movements? I don’t for one-minute think it is a coincidence that a fully armed enemy ship shows up in the middle of our drilling at this remote location several gates away from Aneplé systems. I want you to analyze all of the signals that have left the Zuonopy in the last sixty hours and find the leak.”

  “Message received. Sir, is there anything else?”

  Griken was so angry over the screw up he was ready to throw her off the ship in a pod and let her take the same chance as his hibernating pilots. He looked at Connor and re
alized he needed to cool down. He needed to resolve his anger if she was going to be effective. “I don’t know, yet. Stand by.”

  Tipaly slowly released the breath she was holding. “Yes, sir.”

  Connor could not fault Griken. He was just as angry, if not more so. If he understood how compromised the Fleet’s security was before he was activated, he would have encouraged Shinny to resign rather than transfer to the inactive reserve. It was a monumental screw up. Although the responsibility fell on Commander Rontue’s shoulders for this incident, a number of issues out of her control limited access to the raw data supporting the intelligence estimates. He knew from his time on Earth she fell in with the group he could trust without hesitation. “If the CIG’s Military Defense Committee expects me to do my job and implement needed changes, then this ship needs to return fully loaded to reclaim this nexus and the Kisskalu. I am going to have a frank discussion with the chairman, Representative Bequin. If that can’t be done, then the transit gates at this nexus must be destroyed.”

  Connor searched Commander Rontue’s face for a reaction, while Griken nodded in agreement with him. Historically, each time CIG lost a transit gate a negative impact rippled through planetary systems. This nexus had four transit gates, which would cause far more than a ripple of damage. Three were visible and the fourth was hidden behind the gate the Kisskalu had just transited through. Destroying the gates would make commerce difficult for two systems. Destruction of the third would close off Earth for a number of years, until an alternate route could be discovered. He would be deceiving himself if he thought he could easily accept the gate’s destruction, but he needed to choose the lesser of the two evils, a cliché he learned from the staff stationed on Earth. The fourth gate was a different story. Staring at the commander, he asked, “What information do you have on the fourth gate behind the Omega gate?”

  “Connor, I’m not at liberty to discuss the details.”

  Admiral Griken’s eyes narrowed in growing anger.

  Taking a deep breath, she continued addressing Admiral Griken, “However, I realize there is an operational necessity to share the information with you. The hidden gate is part of a highly classified transit system known as the Nester Gate System. The destination of these gates is neither linear nor intuitive. This particular gate is essentially a short cut to the Susastern System. A station there hosts a large Fleet presence and is capable of resupplying the Zuonopy if the request came from the CIG counsel. You are not aware of these systems because the existence of the secondary transit system hidden among the publicly known gates has been revealed only to the most senior admirals along with members of the Intelligence community. However, with Connor’s assistance, I may be able to provide justification to allow you to use the Nester Gate when you return to this area.”

  “Commander, I’m not sure if you are serious or hiding behind the bureaucracy that has hampered CIG’s Fleet operations and grown worse since the treaty. I’m in full agreement I can’t use it now, because of the Kisskalu’s current location. It’s unfortunate the Zuonopy isn’t in position to use the Nester Gate, because I would. I’m not willing to accept that CIG is doing everything to turn this conflict around. I’m not sure who they are trying to protect by not revealing the Nester Gates’ location at this time, but the longer they wait, the less likely the Fleet will be able to protect those gates once they become common knowledge.”

  “Message received. I agree it is critical for you to have access to the gate. With access, you may be able to load weapons and return quickly to confront the Kisskalu, before the Aneplé send reinforcements to this nexus. I’ll begin working on the justification now.”

  “Commander, thank you. I’m sending you my aide, Commander Janeque’s, contact information. Talk to her; she may have useful information on the signals you are looking for. I also need you to talk to my aide on a separate issue. She has a family situation that needs to be resolved. I haven’t made a decision on what to do about it yet. I need you to talk to her since the decision would require me to consider relieving her of her duties soon. I’m concerned about leaving her in place and possibly compromising information, but perhaps Intelligence could use her information in the short-term.”

  “Message received, sir.” Tipaly nodded a salute.

  “We are in agreement on our next steps,” Connor said. He turned toward Griken. “Admiral, as soon as we enter the transit gate, have Communications set up a secure line to CIG Representative Bequin. I think it’s time to see if CIG is serious about changing the course of this conflict.” Connor turned away from them and stepped closer to the main screen, focusing on the Swarm Defender flying toward the Kisskalu.

  Chapter 21

  Brad flew his unarmed vehicle toward the Aneplé Battle Cruiser under the wings of the Swarm Defenders advancing toward the hibernating pods and the Zuonopy. They weren’t flying in a disciplined formation nor did they seem to be well trained in shooting at targets. Brad wondered as he watched them how CIG’s Fleet managed to lose as many assets as they did. Unfortunately, as bad as they were, they did hit a number of targets. Watching the pods being destroyed didn’t provide him with much comfort that the decision they made was any better, but he didn’t feel like they had a choice with the Zuonopy scheduled to leave through the transit gate furthest from them. He could do only so much evasive flying without needing to refuel. “Shinny, I’m sorry, I didn’t think I had any other options if we were going to survive.”

  Shinny had calmed down from the initial anger she felt when Brad prevented her from initiating hibernation. Watching the fate of the pods drifting in space had been sobering. Brad’s instinct was spot on. Looking down, she let a few tears drop for the people who had followed the order to go into hibernation. “There have been many changes since my last deployment. In the past, the Aneplé did not go after the pods. How did you know?”

  “I didn’t know, but it didn’t feel right, either. I learned in training the survival rates for hibernating in the pods were high, but something inside my head screamed at me to not hibernate at this time.”

  “Is there anything screaming at you to do this?” Shinny asked, staring at the battle cruiser ahead and wondering if they would ever return to CIG space or Earth.

  “God, no, if there were, it would be time to have me committed. I just don’t have any better ideas at this time.”

  “Do you have a plan?”

  “I’m hoping I can find a place to land and we can sneak off to someplace safe on the ship.”

  Shinny rolled her eyes. “Hope is not a plan. Wouldn’t it have been safer to fly in with their squadrons?”

  Brad shrugged at her dismissive comment. “I did think about trying to blend in with the Aneplé squadrons, but I was concerned we’d be caught by someone recognizing the signal, or shot even with their haphazard shooting, or ejected. This seemed to be the safest alternative for now.” He stared at the ominous green glow emanating from the ship in front of them. “Do you know why it’s green?”

  Shinny studied the sensors on the dashboard and stared at the activity behind them. “No, there’s nothing in the database on the characteristics of the Aneplé Battle Cruisers, but we might be the first ones to report it, if we return to CIG space. Flying onto the Kisskalu may have been an unconventional choice, but for the moment, I agree it looks like the safer alternative for us.” Shinny continued to swipe through the information on her tablet.

  “We’ll get back. We promised Dane we would be there when he wakes up.” Brad had no idea how they were going to get back to Earth with the transmission from the Zuonopy reporting its transit through the Wogzdunic Gate. Defending Earth suddenly became low on his list of priorities. Right now, he needed to find a place to dock his vehicle and focus on surviving. He cut his engine to a slow hover to float through the Aneplé’s Transportation Room’s diaphragm. Immediately entering into the room, a heavy layer of green dust similar to pollen released on a warm day on Earth hit the windshield. The green dust fille
d the whole room like heavy smog polluting a city, leaving a green sheen on the flat surfaces. Looking for a place to land, Brad became horrified with the condition of the Transportation Platforms. The platforms littered with vehicles and parts strewn haphazardly around resembled junkyards on Earth. People wandered aimlessly on the platforms, sifting through trash piles or lying down stretched out beside the junk piles. The only thing missing was a junkyard dog. “Shinny, what is going on? The platforms look like streets in third world countries with homeless people dressed in rags wandering around or sleeping in huddles,” he gasped in shock.

  “I don’t know what to say. I’ve never seen anyone in CIG space appear impoverished. I had heard stories of Aneplé poverty but I’ve never seen anything like this until I moved to Earth.”

  “Welcome to the dark side of space travel,” Brad quietly mumbled.

  “Did you say something?”

  “Sorry, just talking to myself, nothing worth repeating. Do you see any place for me to dock?”

  “There doesn’t seem to be anything in this area. Maybe if you head toward mid-ship.”

  “We’re just guessing. I’m going to ask the transportation commander or whoever answers for the landing platforms.”

  Shinny stared at him like he was an idiot. “What happened to sneaking onto the Kisskalu? Do you think that’s smart?”

  Brad laughed nervously. “I don’t think I’ve come up with any smart moves in the past hour, but at least they haven’t shot at us, yet. I haven’t given up on sneaking in either. I’m depending upon the false signal to provide us protection.” Brad sighed heavily as he continued to drift slowly between the platforms looking for a suitable place to land. “I could use some help even if it’s the Aneplé providing us assistance in finding a place to dock.” Discouraged from the lack of suitable landing platforms, he moved closer to the idea of contacting the platform commander as the only feasible alternative. He was making an educated guess from his research on the Zuonopy that the Aneplé had taken over CIG’s command structure in addition to the equipment, since changing that would have meant reprogramming all of the equipment. As strange as it seemed, the evidence pointed toward the Aneplé completely absorbing CIG’s technology and not bothering to integrate their technology with software upgrades. He wouldn’t be completely surprised if his assumptions were correct. Gesturing across his dashboard, he called the platform commander, hoping someone would answer his communications. “This is Pilot Whir whir, requesting a platform to dock.”