(the homeworld of the Eleejeetians is Elejee, right?)
The Wild Karrde dropped out of the Jumpstream 120 light-seconds away from Eleejee. It glided slowly towards Eleejee's orbital shipyards, a LRPK beam scar visible on the port engine.

"Eleejee control, please respond. Commander Talon Karrde is reporting. Mission successful. We need to land for repairs. Power is at 50 % and dropping slowly."
"Commander, we have a 'situation' here. A superfreighter has gone missing. It was carrying a 'special' cargo. We deemed it important enough to give it an escort of one of our cruisers. The cruiser is also missing. How long until the Wild Karrde is mission capable?"

"Roger. Heading to docking bay 5. I'll be in the briefing room in 2 hours. Expect my ship mission capable in 2 days. Karrde out."

------------------
"Sergeant, you can't fire that in here! We're indoors!"
"Only until I pull the trigger, Captain!" -Terry Pratchett

Darkk knew even a single Eleejeetian cruiser was trouble. In the Ser system, he'd been commanding the science vessel that had determined the purpose of the object. The captain of the Ares, flying the Eleejeetian cruiser, had demolished the object, the audemedon carrier, and a cruiser and gunship. Fortunatly, Darkk was a better pilot than the Audemedons.

At the first sign of the cruiser, Wind of Blades had entered superlight and popped out right on the cruiser's tail, firing like mad. Darkk squeezed both triggers for weapons the pilot could fire directly, and the turret crews were firing volleys into the cruiser. Eleejeetian cruisers have a great deal of shielding, however, and this one wasn't going down that easy. It turned and fired its Onas pulse, slamming the HVD and its crew around as the Newoo beams made the lights, controls, and other electrical systems flicker in and out.

Darkk wasn't that easy either. He hit the superlight again, bringing Wind of Blades to point blank range. The onas pulses were doing damage, but the magnetos and photopulses were doing slightly more to a ship that had already taken damage. In seconds its shields failed. Darkk, however, wasn't shooting to kill. A Tarantula had been dispatched to board the foolhardy Eleejeetian ship. Darkk knew that Eleejeetian ships' computers go into "help me mode" when the ship is crippled, and lower many security procedures to allow friendly ships to help them faster. This time, however, it allowed Darkk to lock out all self-destruction devices.

The other Tarantulas had clamped onto the sides of the freighter with their foreward capture/docking apparatii, and were pumping in stun gas in quantites and concentrations usually reserved for zoological expeditions trying to subdue violent creatures the size of large dinosaurs. The boarding EVATs began hauling as many of the large fusion powerplants back as they could before and more of the highly dangerous Eleejeetian ships arrived.

Darkk opened a channel to the Eleejeetian commander to demand their surrender. He reflected as he did so that he didn't look nearly piratical enough. He'd have to get a more rakish hat sometime.

"You may have taken out this ship, but it's only one, and soon half our forces will be here!" the Eleejeetian captain shouted.
"I would think I've already defeated half your forces. You Eleejeetians have the least ships of any galactic empire I've ever faced. Besides, I've got a piggyback tap into the local fleet order transfer computer, and the ETA for anything bigger than a fighter is almost 45 minutes. Your tiny navy is very nice, though. I'm going to take that little ship of yours." Darkk replied.
"Oh, no you aren't. You may have disabled my self destruct, but you haven't taken me yet!"

With that remark, the ship engaged superlight. Darkk was kicking himself - he'd failed to damage the superlight engines, unlike the realspace engines and weapondry, to the point they couldn't perform a quick field repair. Oh well, they'd got a great haul of other stuff. The minutes drained away, and then the carriers disengaged their clamps, and sped through a jumpgate to safety just as 5 Eleejeetian cruisers came through another one.

A check of the jumpgate's logs showed they had been cleared completely, leaving no indication where the stream's destination had been.

------------------
William Darkk, head of the Darkklight Entrepenurial Federation
Your cargo or your life!!!

(Spamo, how can you outrank the captain of a ship who's name you can't even spell? :D)

The Chimaera rumbled as it passed through the slipstream, finally emerging on top of the gigantic Gateship the Ishimans had brought to Sol. The Gateship lurched and seveal o it's systems overloaded slightly. It had been designed to move the small, compact Ishiman vessels, not the huge boxy UNS Carrier.

Slug eyed those huge arcs of the Gateship with distrust. He found Ishiman arcitechture most annoying. Everything was always safe, rounded, never a corner to bump a knee on or a gap to twist an ankle in. He applied extra power to get away from the hulk.

"Ensign, prepare my shuttle for departure."

"Aye Sir."

- - - - -

Slug walked down the shuttle's ramp onto the soft clay. He was in the abandoned ruins of a once legendary pre-occupation city. San Fransisco. Most of the landmarks, mostly bridges and towers, had been disassembled to build Cantharan warships. He kicked a flake of green sheet metal out of his way and made for the main building.

A low-lying mist overed the charred and ruined ground. The sky was black with thunderous clouds. Apart from the roaring ocean, a whistling of the slicing wind through the tangled mass of the Golden Gate Bridge, and the occasional rat scurrying, the entire city was dead silent. Almost there

Slug walked up to the shattered dome, once a Cantharan slave mine, and entered. A set of steps led into alining shaft. It was pitch black, and save for the dripping of water slowly flooding the cave, was dead silent. Levt stopped. "What do you want?" he said aloud. It echoed several times, then fell to silence. For a moment, there was complete silence, then a sound.

A match sparked to life, casting a halo of light around the cave and blinding Slug, who's eyes had coma accustomed to the dark. A gruff voice filed the cavern.

" Is it done? "

Slug winced at the voice. "Yes. The Ishimans are going to annex the UNS as part of their protectorate-"

" You must not let it happen " The voice cut him off.

"What?" Slug was astounded. "They will bring us peace after centuris of-"

" You must not let them, Captain Levt. "

"Why?"

" Trust me, Captain. "

"The Cantharans (and their stealth fields) taught me not to trust what I cannot see."

A Salrilian figure slid into the light, looking at Levt with remorse. "Captain Levt, you must organize a resistance. We have forseen it." At which point the match died out and the cavern fell silent again.

------------------
If our military is so much better than theirs, then why don't we ever use it?

(This message has been edited by Slug (edited 12-27-2000).)

"The three pirate cruisers are getting near our outpost, and should be arriving within the hour. Remember to be careful of those weapons. These are not your average pirates. Very few get the money to be this powerful.

We requested assistance from the nearest outpost, and they're sending a pair of heavy cruisers along to help. Even with the heavy cruisers with us, we still have to fly well." said Ortinus.

"Sir, are you sure a big clumsy cruiser is going to be much of a threat to us? I mean, our fighters are faster and more maneuverable. We ca-" said Norp, the squadron's supply officer, but he was cut off by Ortinus.

"Remember, lieutenant, that cruisers are not much less maneuverable, even if they are much larger targets. And these cruisers have upgraded shield generators. Our entire squadron combined doesn't have as much shielding as one of these cruisers. That is why we're getting support from the nearest outpost to here. Any more questions on that subject?" he asked.

"Good. Now I'll go over our plan. 30 minutes from now, we will launch from base, and make our way out into the asteroid belt. We will follow near specially chosen asteroids there, and wait until the three cruisers come into the system. We think that they are attempting to access some storage devices that the squadron's cargo ship detected and retrieved yesterday, so we will be near where those were drifting.

When the pirates enter the system, we will wait near where the storage containers were found until they come close. When they do, we will suddenly come out from near our asteroids and head towards them at full throttle.

The two heavy cruisers will be waiting elsewhere in the belt, and will use their superlight boosters to come as soon as we give the signal. We will then disable the pirate cruisers, and our cargo ship will come to apprehend the crew and to tow back to base any of our ships that are too damaged to come back on their own. Got it?"

"Yes, sir!" the squadron said in unison. They went to their vessels, and Mag began the final systems checks...

------------------
"Oi, oi, oi, me got a hurt n here
Oi, oi, oi, me smell a ting is near
Me gonna bosh and me gonna nosh
An da hurt'll dissapear"

As he walked out of the meeting, the first of many, Vaenar felt relieved. He had feared that the UNS would outright refuse aid. Thankfully, all but the most stubborn commanders had been able to swallow their pride and accept the Ishiman aid, at least for the moment. Of course, there were many unresolved issues. In a few hours, he would be meeting with the commanders of the UNS fleets, after that, he would meet the heads of the Earth reconstruction effort, then the colonization department, then, finally, he would attend the drafting of the new UNS constitution. Quite a day. Thankfully, he was used to a seventy seven hour day from his last assignment. It would take a while to readjust his sleep cycle, but for now, it would be useful not to need the rest.

He checked his mail. Thirty messages. Most were current events briefs. The goings on of a tremendous Galactic community. Only three of the classified intelligence briefs seemed relevant. Human Pirates engageing Elejeetian transports, UNS lending aid to Obiard colonies under attack, and continueing Audemedon violations of the recently established fronteir.

The second was heartening. The Ishimans and the Obiards were used to working together closely, and if the UNS took an active part in the alliance, it would only strengthen the bond. The First and the third, were less encourageing. If the Elejeetians began to feel that the Humans were being ungrateful for their aid, it would mean big trouble for the UNS. The persistent Audemedon incursions were worrying. If they persisted after a formal declaration of greivance from the Protectorate, they would be considered acts of war. Wizr smiled. It is doubtful that the Prophets would be stupid enough to goad the Ishiman Protectorate into war. Even with the Audemedons behind them, the Ishiman Navy outnumbered the Sals three to one. Throw in the Elejeetians and the Obiards, and any advantage that their ships might have had would be out the window. They could not possibly be so foolish. There must be another reason for the incursions.

Regardless of their motives, he would file his grievance with the central legislature. It would be signed, ratified and sent in hours. He would also request several teams of civil and military engineering consultants, as well as as much supplies as he could ship through his gateship in the five days that he had it. On Tuesday, it was tasked out to another part of the Protectorate, and another would not be available for several weeks. He needed to establish a Jumpgate of Ishiman standards soon, the UNS gates were far too short ranged to reach the core of the Protectorate.

He also sent a requisition for the mobilization of several more carriers to be donated to the UNS Navy. He was not sure what to expect. The Ishimans were often reluctant to ouright give away ships to newly founded protectorates, but the Humans had proven their ability already, and the comitee would usually pounce on a chance to avoid risking Ishiman lives for defence. Either way, he would need to free up his delegation's vessel for use by the UNS. He called his aides and ordered them to take a shuttle down and establish themselves in the "Embassy" building that had been given to him. The Ishiman carrier would be a welcome token of his good will, and might convince the more stubborn Humans to consider Ishiman aid. As the last of the admirals and generals trickled in to the conference room, he ordered his aid to draft an apology to the Elejeetians for him.

The Trey'sh prepared to take extensive notes on the briefing he was about to recieve. The strategic position of the UNS military was very important. Finally, the two high fleet commanders, Admiral Spann, and Admiral Levt, sitting in the middle of the table, called the meeting to order.

------------------
Faris eck Vaenar Maletena-Wizr, Trey'ish of the Ishiman reestablishment comittee.

Trey'sh had not even breathed the first word when Levt interrupted.

"I would like to make an opening statement on behalf of the United Nations of Sol. Ladies and gentlemen of the council, I wish you to reconsider your descisions, let them be to allow or forbid the annexing. The Ishimans have sugarcoated their proposal and masked the true fate of Earth should it.... fall to their rule.

We as humans have always valued freedom and independence to decide our own fate. Let it be a majestic rise to the top, or a dark fall to the bottom, our fate should be our descision, not theirs. We would be taking the very principals that drove us to rise against the Cantharans, and trashing them. What have we to say for our dignity with Ishima hovering over us, smothering us? We deserve a better fate than this. Thank you." Levt sat down, taking a draft from the tall pitcher of water on his table.

Trey'sh pushed back his seat and stood before the council. "Might I say that the protectorate has safely kept worlds such as B'kl, Xlee, and Tab from the Cantharan Order since before the cruades began? Their spirits were not dampened the least and they flourished under our protection. Had the-"

"None of these worlds have made names of themselves." Levt cut in. "Many of them are unheard of from their lack of advancement because the of protectorate. In basic words, they are not famous because the Protectorate did not allow them to b-"

"No," Trey'sh interrupted "but the Ishiman Stellar Protectorate is known throughout the galaxy for it's-"

"Only because of the Ares war. It was us humans who carved your name into the book of the galaxy."

Trey'sh exploded in anger "It was you humans that nearly had us all wiped out by an angered Salril, Gaitor, and Cantharis!" A series of gasps erupted in the room from offended human representatives. Trey'sh realized his mistake and covered his mouth, but it was too late.

Accross the room, Levt sat there with his arms folded, grinning at his poltical opponent.

------------------
Never put all your ranking officers in a shuttle.

The room burst into chaos as Trey'sh's sudden outburst offended and shocked many of the attending memebers. Spamo stood to his feet and began calling for order. Others joined his pleas and soon order was restored. The members were now somewhat polarized, some wanting the aid from the Ishiman protectorate, unready yet to brave the hostile universe, and others called for the independence of the UNS. There had to be an agreement made before outright bloodshed happened in the conference room.

"Gentlemen please, let us not fight here! We are here to discuss the protection of the UNS in its infancy." spoke Spamo.

Mumbles and mutters spread through the room of agreement and disagreement. Fierce glances from Spamo silenced those that seemed about to speak.

"Trey'sh, you are obviously not here to try and subjugate humanity." A few stood to object. "Silence there! I am not done."
"You are not here to take over earth, nor the UNS holdings. In fact the UNS is growing a considerable amount. From what I see, those other planets that you have under your protectorate are just that. Planets. The amount of systems that they are able to control is quite tiny. Captain..." Spamo glances down at his screen for a name "...Levt, you are a captain aboard the Chimera , you have a good idea of the extent of influence the UNS wields. We have the groundwork for a very large and powerful Nation. But that is exactly what it is. Groundwork. The UNS does not have the technological nor numerical advantage at this point in time. Many of our ships are vintage from the recent Ares war. They still outfit with dated laser cannons and magneto pulse weapons. Whilst these are decent enough weapons, they are no match for some of the technologies of other races."

Levt interrupted "But our ships and piloting skills are much superior! Look, we managed to push out the Cantharans and defeated the Salrillians and even Audemedons in some battles."

"Ah, but we would not have had the resources to combat such a massive war machine of the Cantharans without the boost given us by the Ishimans? Not to mention Obish and Eleejetian allies. Humanity owes a great deal to many of the other races within this galaxy. I doubt we would have thrown off our shackles so quickly..."

"Only to put on another set, held by the Ishimians." Levt sneered.

Spamo glared at him. "Is it so dishonorable to accept help where it is needed? Must a man dying of thirst refuse water because it will sully his honor? There is no shame in seeking help, nor accepting it when offered. Here the Ishimans are offering us help to set up shipyards and construction facilities, so that we may construct ships of our own design, crewed by our own people. Our fleets now cannot hope to push back a full scale invasion by ANY force. Our battles with the Salrillians and Audemedons were mere skirmishes, and did not come nearly close enough to them showing thier true strength. Should they turn their might upon us now, we would be crushed."

The other delegates were listening now. They did not like the fact that the UNS fleets were small. Determined they may be, the lacking of numbers was a fact that nobody could deny.

Trey'sh sat down and left the convincing to the rest of the humans here. He did not want to risk another blunder, and the admiral was doing a fine job of helping his cause.

"We will not remain under Ishimian control. We are under Ishimian protection , not government. Our leaders will not have to answer to the Ishimians. Now, I suggest that we adjourn for the time being so that we may discuss this between each other in further depth. For now, I think that the Ishimans may continue their protection until we have decided our course of action."

Spamo sat back down as the room dissolved into murmurings and shufflings as people got up and moved about, speaking with each other about the decision ahead.

------------------
Ne Cede Malis Sed Contra Audientor Ito

The squadron's fighters began powering up. A few minutes later, the docking bay doors opened, and the fighters left the station.

Mag walked back to his servicing bay and turned on his holo-screen to watch the performance of the fighters. He enjoyed watching the squadron in action, and it also allowed him to have an idea of what parts of the fighters were damaged before they returned to base.

"Okay, I have the coordinates of everybody's asteroids ready, so download them now," said Ortinus over the comm.

"Yes, sir."

The squadron split up, and each fighter headed for an asteroid. Off in the distance, a jumpgate opened, and the heavy cruisers came into the system.

"This is the ISN 8465732 and ISN 7495273 reporting in," came another voice over the comm.

"Glad to have you with us. I'm sending your coordinates to your ships' computers now."

The heavy cruisers engaged their superlight boosters and headed off into the asteroid belt. Everybody waited for about five minutes, and the pirate cruisers dropped out of hyperspace.

The cruisers engaged their superlight boosters and headed for the location that the cargo containers had been at. Wipto, the squadron's interceptor, found their comm channel and gave it to the squadron.

"I'm telling you, Ts'pt, it wasn't a good idea to keep our cargo near an Ishiman outpost station." (BROADCASTED FROM SALRILLIAN CRUISER)

"Shut up. What are the Ishiman going to do? For all we know, they could've abandoned that outpost." (BROADCASTED FROM GAITORI CRUISER)

"Guys, calm down. If they do have forces here, fighting'll just make it easier for them to stop us." (BROADCASTED FROM ISHIMAN CRUISER)

"Why does she always have to be right?" (BROADCASTED FROM GAITORI CRUISER)

"Not always. Remember that time when we had to tow here to the nearest civilian repair station because she tried to superlight past an Audemedon carrier?" (BROADCASTED FROM SALRILLIAN CRUISER)

"Hey, how was I to know those trazers could shred a cruiser up that fast?" (BROADCASTED FROM ISHIMAN CRUISER)

At that point, the cruisers began dropping out of superlight. They were right where the cargo containers had been.

"My scanners aren't showing them, guys..." (BROADCASTED FROM ISHIMAN CRUISER)

"I told you." (BROADCASTED FROM SALRILLIAN CRUISER)

"Shut up, Ot Pom. I'm sure they're around here somewhere." (BROADCASTED FROM GAITORI CRUISER)

"Okay, now," said Ortinus.

The squadron moved in from their asteroids, and the two heavy cruisers began superlighting.

"This is Irto Squadron, along with the ISN 8465732 and ISN 7495273. You are under arrest. If you do not cooperate, you will be punished much more severely," said Ortinus.

"This is Captain Ot Pom, of the Jackal. Leave us now, or we will open fire."

"Okay, squadron, let's disable them. Irtos 1-4, take out the Gaitori cruiser. Irtos 5-8 and the ISN 8465732, take the Salrillian cruiser. Irtos 9-12 and the ISN 7495273, take the Ishiman cruiser. Got it?"

"Got it, sir."

The squadron accelerated towards the cruisers. The Ishiman cruiser moved up the belt, preparing to take the fighters from that side, the Salrillian cruiser moved down the belt, getting ready to fend off those fighters, and the Gaitori cruiser positioned itself between them, ready to deliver support fire.

Mag Steelglass set the holo-screen to show the view from Ortinus's fighter, Irto 1. Ortinus flew straight at the Gaitori cruiser, dodging missiles.

"Remember, if just one of those hits you guys, you'll be toast."

After sucessfully getting close to it, he began firing with his photokinetic beam cannon. It wasn't doing much, and the cruiser managed to hit Irto 3 with a missile. Luckily, it wasn't a very good shot, and the fighter was just disabled. Irtos 5, 7, and 10 were also disabled, and then the heavy cruisers dropped out of superlight. They began dogfighting with the Ishiman and Salrillian cruisers.

Suddenly, a massive jumpgate opened off in the distance. Three Cantharan gunships came out, and immediately headed towards the fighting ships.

"This is the Eyelid Marking of Zom. Hold your fire, and prepare to be taken into custody. You outpost will be dismantled, and you will be prosecuted to the full extent of Cantharan law for your raid three days ago on the pirate vessel Flamewave, which was under the employ of the Cantharan Order."

"Cantharans, we were only retaliating on that ship for raiding one of our convoys the day before that."

"I do not care about such trivial knowledge. Prepare to be boarded and to be held in our brigs."

"Squadron, forget the pirates, get ready to take these guys out."

"Hey, squadron leader. This is Captain Ot Pom, of the Jackal. Our pirate group would be willing to help you out of this situation if you agree not to apprehend us."

"We would only be able to do that if you agreed to not raid in Ishiman Stellar Protectorate or United Nations of Sol space again, and possibly to have to work under our employ for a month or so."

"Agreed."

"Okay, squadron, I've negotiated with the pirates, and they'll help us out. Afterwards, us, the heavy cruisers, and the pirates will dock with the outpost for final negotiations and debriefings."

"Yes, sir."

The ships moved into formation, getting ready for the battle with the Cantharans. Soon, the Cantharans dropped out ahead of them. Irto Squadron moved behind them and started firing away, and the clumsy gunships turned to fire on them. Then the cruisers and heavy cruisers flew up to the now exposed backs of the gunships, and began firing with all of their weapons, just as the fighters began flying out of harm. Soon, all three gunships were disabled.

"I think we'll need our outpost's assault transport if we're going to try to take those things," said the captain of the ISN 7495273.

"Good idea. How long until it can be here?"

"Fifteen minutes."

"Very well. Have it come."

The squadron then moved into formation for sending messages, using various formations for different letters. They delivered a message to the gunships, "We have an assault transport coming in fifteen minutes to apprehend you. After you are taken back to the near outpost for interrogation, you will be released back to the Order in a transport. We will keep your gunships."

The ships flew back to the outpost, and the cargo ship came out, waiting for the assault transport to arrive.

------------------
"Oi, oi, oi, me got a hurt n here
Oi, oi, oi, me smell a ting is near
Me gonna bosh and me gonna nosh
An da hurt'll dissapear"

Sorry, meant to use the other name...

(This message has been edited by Captain Pharris (edited 12-28-2000).)

(I don't think I'd scream that particular remark, unlike Ishimans, Maletena-Wizr has no qualms about useing military might for political gain, assuming its worth the cost/risk. but whatever, keep going.)

Wizr stood now, before the general assembly of the newly formed UNS congress, as well as hundreds of VIPs. He had already heard the inflamatory remarks of both pro and con protectorate speaked. He calmed himself, he paused for a moment, cleared his throught and spoke again.

"...I understand how all of you must feel, risking what may seem to be subjugation under a softer name, but you must realise that I am here to secure the best for Humanity. There are thousands of worlds and hundreds of races under the protection of the Ishiman Stellar Protectorate. Each and every one of those planets has had the option to abandon Ishiman aid, and accept independance since they were first annexed or relocated. What we have here on Earth, is a different matter entirely. I see the potential in you to rise into a galactic power, but at this moment, you are recovering from years of Cantharaan occupation, without aid, you will simply be trodden over again. What I am asking is for you to trust my judgement. I have been in the service of the Ishiman Protectorate for longer than any of you have been alive. I have seen countless planets into and out of the Protectorate, and I assure you that it is no matter of shame to be chosen to enter the Protectorate. Understand that you are being given a hand up, do not be too stubborn to accept help when you need it. As enthusiastic and willing as you may be, the UNS has not been around long enough to have the experience to enter the confuseing politics of the Galaxy. You would be exposing yourself to the risk of invasion, and destruction once again at the manipulative hands of your enemies. However, none of the major races would dare attack a protectorate openly. You will have the Ishiman Stellar Navy at your shoulder, as well as all the diplomatic and intelligence gathering facilities of the largest nation in the Galaxy, not to mention the civil and military technology consultants from both Ishima and Elejee, and regular shipments of material aid to help reconstruct Earth. Understand me gentlemen, I am not here to ensure you stay a protectorate. I am here to see to it that you suceed as your own nation, that is the charter of the Ishiman Stellar Protectorate, and it is the creed I live by. No nation has ever been refused a request to leave the Protectorate, but I strongly reccomend that you do not do so at this critical moment. We did not contribute our weapons and risk all out galactic war to see such a promising species fall under the heel of tyranny once again. This is not a matter of pride, it is a matter of survival. The Prophets of Salril and the Cantharaan Confederation are rearing for revenge; I will not stand by while they take it. Together, the United Nations of Sol and the Ishiman Stellar Protectorate will be able to take on any adversary. Together, we can make Earth and its colonies a seat of Galactic power, divided, Earth risks the combined vengeance of the largest navy in the Galaxy, and the most fearsome race of mechanized weaponry ever to exist in the Milky Way. I desparately hope that you do not leave Ishiman protection so suddenly. We are not here to take away your autonomy. We want to see Humanity rise beyond our protection, into a strong and lasting galactic power of its own right! Together,we shall rebuild Earth, resettle the colonies, and together, we will assert the United Nation's Standing a Galactic Superpower!"

The supporters of the annexation, who were still(barely) in the majority, cheered loudly, the thousands of viewers from around the Earth, and from all the other colonies stood, in the bandstands of the former Miami Skydome, clapping and cheering. The Trey'sh stepped down from the podium, sat at his seat, and checked his messages, in the brief time before the President Elect stepped up to the podium to be inaugeratied.

The Navy had granted two carriers, as well as several cruisers and gunboats, and more importantly, a mobile construction facility, an "instant base" much like the ones deployed on the captured Cantharaan worlds. It was not advanced, it could only produce fighters, cruisers and gunships, but it could be expanded to produce HVDs. More importantly, it was capable of produceing all sorts of complex machinery, and would be a welcome supplement to Earths already strained manufactureing facilities. The Transports carrying it would be deployed immediately, along with many shipments of Resources. The next few convoys carrying the engineering and consulting teams would come through the gateship six hours later, and then the gateship would form a static link to one of the Ishiman "Automated Resource Gathering Facilities," and would begin pouring in resources for use inthe construction of the Jumpgate that would replace the short-ranged Human built gate, and relive the Gateship to its tasked duties.

He stood up and began clapping as the President came up on stage to make his inaugueral adress.

------------------
Faris eck Vaenar Maletena-Wizr, Trey'ish of the Ishiman reestablishment comittee.

Spamo stood and clapped, dragging others with him. The Trey'sh had made a good arguement, and those that still were skeptical of Ishiman help were becoming the minority quite quickly. The members sat as the President gave his address. Spamo looked over at captain Levt, who sat brooding in the corner looked somewhat malevolently at the Trey'sh and at the other supporters of the Ishimans. I'll have to talk to him later thought Spamo. He wondered why a captain, even one so capable as Jerry Levt, would so quickly immerse himself in politics. What was even stranger was that Levt was the one who sparked the argument over Ishiman protection. Before his outburst, those that were undecided were leaning quite heavily towards Ishiman help. It almost seemed that the outburst was staged...
Spamo dismissed the thought almost at once. There were always political extremists, and they grew in all places.

The assemblage waited as the President finished his speech. Spamo stood and exited with the other members.

I'll have to keep captain Levt busy, until Ishiman aid is fully insured thought Spamo. I won't have him disrupting the UNS' best chance to live.

A tiny * pong * on Spamo's screen announced the arrival of several messages. Most of them were merely updates. Glancing through them, they ranged from dinner invitations, fleet operations to events. A few of those were of increased pirate activities.

Perfect. thought Spamo. Levt is just the man I need to mop up those pirates.
Admiral Jackson Spann smiled as applause flowed through the room. The perfect man indeed.

------------------
Ne Cede Malis Sed Contra Audientor Ito

8 Lightnings watched the Carrier hit it's superlight drives and disappear through the jumpgate. Damn, we needed the help, even if it was late.

The Battleship had arrived and along with the Starbeam , it was tearing into the rear of the formation.

But the battle was already lost. Pirate ships had reached Ob-ka, and had secured the spaceports and docking facilities. The 40 remaining Obish soldiers were hiding in the mountains, planning a guerilla campaign, for what is was worth.

Why didn't the Commander let us attack the front of the formation? What was wrong with him? It's not like him to avoid risk for greater good...

Too bad that Slug had gone. He could have used an ally.

But maybe he could still get one...

-------------------------------------

The Starbeam , along with all three battleships, pulled into Ob-Viert Station. It was the nearest Obish outpost to Ob-ka, and it was from here that they were to send their report.

8 had some friends at the station, who could help him if he needed it. Finally the response came from HQ on Obain: The crews were temporarily relieved of duty until Fleet Command had fully considered the situation.

8 made his decision. One of his friends was able to lend him a hyperfighter: A fairly new Obish fighter, equipped with hyper- and superlight drives, also being highly fast and maneuverable. Unfortunately, some weapons space was lost in the process, and many pilots disliked the risk of flying a ship with open hyperdrives: a clear target for enemy gunners. Also, an astromech droid was needed to assist in piloting it.

8 climbed into the fighter, Screamer 5, with a droid, MS3228. The droid was old, but Mag Steelglass Droids did a very good job with even their older drones. It would do the job more than adequately.

Although it could use a better name.

He dialed the jumpgate and headed to the Human homeworld, Earth.

------------------
Subcommander g'Var "8 Lightnings" Krai'un
Second in command of the Escort Starbeam.
"CRUISER DESTROYED. 91 remaining" -Ares, chapter 9, Hand Over Fist

The colors swirled together into black blobs, then back into fuzzy blobs of color... through it, he heard a rasping voice whispering in the background...

"Krieeessse-ech-vesstarr... yareen-ful-aahd.... vyesh! vyesh!"

suddenly everything turned bright white, Pharris screamed, and found himself straining his arms against tight restraints. He couldn't stop screaming. He opened his eyes, and the white grew brighter. He tried to turn his head, but couldn't. He kept screaming, till he felt a prick on his arm, and his strength drained away. He could hardly breathe.

the white went. He opened his eyes, and saw the head of a ten foot long slimy insect. He screamed but made no noise. The bug stared at him for another moment, then turned and screeched over its shoulder. It looked back at him. its facial expression changed, and it made a clicking noise, deep in its throught. The creature spoke, this time in english, through speakers in the huge fixture that hung from the ceiling that had to exist somewhere up in the dark.

"Greetings Mark Pharris. We have been impatiently awaiting your awakening. You have had quite an ordeal since we saved you from that Ishiman Simulation Laboratory, we thought you weren't going to make it..."

"What SimLab? where the hell am I and who are you? get me the **** off this table bitch, or I'll ****ing crush you like an oversized picnic ant!"

The bug looked over its shoulder into the darkness, Pharris could make out quiet murmurs from the ceiling

"... class 4 adrenal spike. still below last peaks, dropping slowly. Endorphine supplements havn't kicked in, we may need to readminister the tranquilizer. That dose will wear of in a few more minutes. Highly errattic neuroelectric activity. I saw alpha waves briefly, now nothing concurrant with previous physiological measurements."

"curious... don't readminister the tranquilizer. I should like to let him up, if he seems docile"

"it is possible, the bone plugs in his skull are nearly fully healed. These humans are quite remarkeable in that capacity..."

The Slug looked back at him. its eyes changed. it used a tentacle to bring something to its mouth and when it screeched, the Speakers boomed in Pharris' ears.

"Come Mark, let me get you off of that uncomfortable table. You'll want to sit down and have a nice drink of water. Excellent! Isn't that better? You're very comfortable now, right?"

He was. He nodded. The insect looked over his shoulder, the whisper answered through the speakers

"the gesture means affirmative"

The creature turned back to Pharris and boomed through the speakers again

"Do you feel rested?"

He didn't. He nodded anyway.

"Excellent. I'd like to play a little... game... with you, if you like, I promise it will be amuseing. Come, sit here."

His arms felt pricked again. His hands were attatched to spheres. He felta tingling in the back of his neck. Suddenly something entered his brain. His entire body convulsed involuntarily. Everything lost focus except for the repulsive insect's eyes. The speakers boomed again. Through the ringing in his ears, Pharris heard the beast trying to calm him.

"Calm Mark, Be calm! you shall be all right, if you relax"

"he's going off the charts..."

"Curses... sedate him. We'll try it again later."

A tingling sweet numbness flowed from his arm, up through his shoulder, across his chest and into his head, where everything went black.

------------------

Screamer 5 was en route to the Sol system when 8 got an emergency message from an Ishiman station. He diverted his course to the nearest jumpgate and checked the location of the message.

Quickly he determined the jumpgate location of the target system. He dialled it and vanished into the mists of jumpstream once again.

-------------------

The hyperfighter dropped out into the system. Ahead of him, a group of Ishiman fighters, along with a pair of HVCs and some modified ships from various races were combatting some Cantharan cruisers. He called the fighter squadron commander and asked if he could assist, even as he kicked the superlight drive and leaped suddenly into the fray.

The astromech droid protested, but 8 ignored him...

------------------
Subcommander g'Var "8 Lightnings" Krai'un
Second in command of the Escort Starbeam.
"CRUISER DESTROYED. 91 remaining" -Ares, chapter 9, Hand Over Fist

(Where is Ob-Ka anyway?)

The Wild Karrde's modifications had further been enhanced by the engineers at the base. The sensors could now detect cloaked ships up to 20000 kilometres away. It was also equipped with rapid firing-dual LRPK beams. The modifies HVC design was custom-tailored for use against Salrillian vessels. It's first operation had proven that. It even had a cloaking field. Add to that an Onas pulse gun, and there was a vessel that re-ascertain Elejeetian technological superiority, even over the Audemedons. Strange. The Admiral had been worried...
About what?

The Wild Karrde was currently approaching Ob-Ka, the Elejeetians having heard something about an 'incident'.

"30 seconds until realspace, Captain."
"Prepare to engage superlight. I don't want to be caught off-guard by anything."
"Aye aye, sir. 5...4...3...2...1...Mark!"
The Wild Karrde's speed dropped from the unimaginable velocity of hyperspace (the Admiral had ordered not to use the Jump Gate, in case of enemy incursion) to the still extremely high speed of superlight travel.
"Sensors?"
"Over 40 vessels in the system, capn'!"
"That's a little to many for a small outpost like this. ID them!"
"48 ships, sir. 10 superfreighters, the rest range from fighter to gunship class. I read Cantharan´, Ishiman, Gaitori and even 1 Elejeetian type vessel! Alignment unknown."
"Hail them!"
"This is Elejeetian vessel 1034557, The 'Wild Karrde'. Identify yourselves!"

------------------
"Sergeant, you can't fire that in here! We're indoors!"
"Only until I pull the trigger, Captain!" -Terry Pratchett

(This message has been edited by Talon Karrde (edited 12-31-2000).)

(Um, 8, if that's in my subplot, remember that we already got the Cantharans, and it was gunships, not cruisers, and it's just a little system near the border that very few people fly through, and those people are almost always pirates who are coming back from the free trade zone or Elejeetian space. The station didn't give a distress call, as everything was under control, and this is the opposite side of the galaxy from Sol.)

The squadron docked, and Mag began looking at the damage reports on the fighters' computers as the pilots headed towards the conference room, with the crews of the pirate cruisers and the heavy cruisers following them. They all took seats, and Ortinus began the debriefing.

"Well, that was an unusual mission."

Murmurs of agreement came from the squadron.

"Well, that was good flying, squadron. Especially considering the surprise attack by the Cantharans. It'll be interesting to write a report for ISN HQ... But never mind that. Good job, given the circumstances.

And thank you for helping us, ISN 8465732 and ISN 7495273. You may return to your outpost."

"Thank you, Commander Ortinus." The crews of the heavy cruisers headed back to the docking bay, and the pair of heavy cruisers was soon seen departing.

"Now it's time to review the contract with the pirates."

"I would like to have this done as quickly as possible. I have some cargo to sell," said Ot Pom.

"Well, I'm afraid we'll have to confiscate your cargo and return it to the Gaitori Union. You are also officially forbidden from pirating in Ishiman space, Elejeetian space, and the Free Trade Zone. Our repair droid is having explosives loaded aboard your vessels as we speak. Our squadron controls their remote. Any attempts to tamper with them will set them off. Furthermore, you'll have to work with this squadron for three months before you can return to your regular activities. You will be allowed to stay on after that, but as mercenaries. And we will not remove the explosives ourselves, even after three months is up. Got it?"

"But, that's proposterous! You can't believe that we'd accept that!" said Ts'pt.

"I could have the explosives set off right now, and leave you stranded on this outpost, which we'll probably be abandoning soon."

"But, please, something more agreeable. That only leaves us with well defended systems to raid in, unless we wait around in the middle of nowhere, hoping for the occaisional transport to come by."

"You really have no choice," said Ortinus.

"Fine, then. What's our first job?" said the captain of the Ishiman cruiser.

"Well, helping us get the Cantharans a transport to take back to their space, and getting our cargo loaded aboard the Squadron Transport that's going to come through here soon come to mind."

"Very well."

------------------
"Oi, oi, oi, me got a hurt n here
Oi, oi, oi, me smell a ting is near
Me gonna bosh and me gonna nosh
An da hurt'll dissapear"

(Karrde: Ob-Ka is an ex-Obish colony. I'm not the pirate that is raiding it, and I didn't capture the Eleejeetian cruiser. I've got some carriers, an HVD, and a few more forces back at my hidden base.)

Wind of Blades slowly lowered through the crevice on the barren planet, followed by the Tarantulas. All around them were the firey contrails of the meteors from the dense asteroid field shooting through the atmosphere. A hundred km away a larger asteroid slammed into the ground, sending shockwaves that made the crust shake. Nothing could live on the surface.

Darkk had set up a base here for privacy. It wasn't exactly the most convenient spot, in the center of an asteroid belt who's Cantharan name literally translated into "field of instant death". Darkk, however, had figured out how to program computers to navigate it. He considered himself safest of all on that planet, for no organic pilot had the reflexes to get through. The Auds could, sure, but they'd never come after a lowly pirate, and they couldn't find him in here anyway.

Darkk could see the hidden base now. Tractor beams began to drag him in, slowly. The ship settled into its docking rest without anything out of the ordinary, as did the Tarantulas. The underground spaceport was the portion of Darkk's operation he had devoted the most resources to. It produced, albiet slowly, the Tarantula carriers and modified gunships he needed.

Darkk walked into the command center. "Bizz," he said to a nearby Ishiman, "anything on the scope?"
Bizz looked at the sensors. "Funny you should say that..."

------------------
William Darkk, head of the Darkklight Entrepenurial Federation
Your cargo or your life!!!

" You are incompetent! " The voice boomed. Levt winced as the very cavern seemed to shake. " The UNS will be annexed to the Protectorate soon, it is our last chance to stop them. "

"What do you want me to do?" Levt hissed at the Salrilian who was still hidden in the darkness.

" We've sent an Audemedon fleet to take Earth before the protectorate does. "

"You what?! " Levt demanded "And you expect me to surrender, right?!"

" We do. We have forseen it. Earth will become part of our order. " That was simply too much for Levt to bear. He exploded in a rage and lept into the darkness, fingers grasping for the Salrilian's throat. " You... can kill me but it won't save your planet, human. "

It was a short struggle. Levt crouched over the crumpled Salrilian body, violet blood covering his hands. He brought them to the light and stared at them in horror. A chill ran down his spine as he remembered the Cantharan occupation. The hunter-killers that terrorized the UNS resistance. He remembered seeing his best friend pounced on and carved up by a Cantharan right before his eyes. His only crime: stealing a loaf of djhasta bread from the Cantharan's table. Ever since then, Levt had hated the Cantharan killers.

But it didn't matter anymore. He had become one of them.

- - - - -

Onboard the Chimaera , Levt poured his heart out to his first officer. His wife, Samantha Levt.

"Shall we tell the UNS?" She said softly.

"Are you kidding?" He replied.

------------------
Never put all your ranking officers in a shuttle.

Fleet Admiral Jackson Spann went over the numerous reports on his desk. The ranged from various fleet exercise reports, intelligence communiques, and current events. He sat back from his work and turned his chair to look out of the window of his office. The flagship Mariposa hung in space above the shipyards circling earth. The Mariposa is one of the first of the new UNS battleships. Fresh from the shipyards, her shakedown run was ideal. The systems worked well. The crew was exceptional. The new line of battleships incorporated the latest in human and Ishiman weapons technology. PK beams, advanced guidance missiles that outperformed the old C-missiles of the Ares war... Spamo smiled at the strength and thrumming power he commanded. Outside, shuttles carried personnel about for various important tasks, and lights glimmered on ships being constructed in the shipyards below. 4 more hulls of the Battleships dominated the shipyards, taking up most of the space. A fleet of Ishiman cargo ships arrived with mobile construction facilities, materials and personnel. Humanity has a big hand up now.

The screen on Spamo's desk ponged with a new message. Spamo turned back to it to view whatever news had come. It was a live transmission.

"Sir, I have an important report for you."

"Go ahead then."

"Deep space probes along our Galactic western border have picked up anomalous readings. I've sent them as an attachment, so you can view them at your leisure."

"Thankyou." Spamo scanned the briefing quickly.

"The audemedons are getting awfully rambunctious. Why would they be moving so many ships around?"

"I don't know sir. But we've dispatched covert passive-scan probes into their space. Hopefully we'll be able to get some more information."

"Thankyou corporal. Spann out."

The face of the young corporal dimmed out and was replaced by the list of other reports that Spamo had to read. Quickly, he ran through the reports that were left over. Nothing incredibly crazy. Pirate activity was taking place over in Obish space, the eleejeetians have encountered some fairly aggressive pirates... Lots of pirates... thought Spamo.
He'd send ships to help deal with them, but something itched at the back of his mind. That report about the Audemedons was alarming for some reason. Spamo set aside thoughts that they were gearing up for invasion, but didn't put them away completly. There wasn't enough evidence to warrent an alert status.

Spamo sighed and closed the document. Other worries for other days. Spamo instead keyed up a communication channel on his screen.

"Yes admiral?"

"Ensign, please prepare my dress uniform for the banquet tonight."

"Yes sir. Will there be anything else?"

"No ensign. That will be all."

"Thankyou sir."

Later, Spamo tried to relax in his dress uniform. The reception banquet for the Ishiman Trey'sh was starting in a few minutes. Perhaps he should talk to the Trey'sh... it certainly couldn't hurt. I shouldn't worry so much. thought Spamo. He straigtened, and looked in the mirror along the wall in the executive transport. I should enjoy the banquet tonight. Perhaps that nice-looking Rear-admiral would be there. Admiral Jackson Spann smiled and straightend his hair.

OOC:
For technical folks, the covert passive-scan probes are small probes encased in a small metallic asteroid. The asteroid masks the probe signature from nearly all passive scans, and some active ones. With no active sensors, they rely on passive detection. As a result they aren't very reliable, but they can penetrate very deep into territory a normal probe couldn't make without detection.

------------------
Ne Cede Malis Sed Contra Audientor Ito

Captain "Slug" Levt grumbled. On one hand, he knew it was his duty to report to the UNS of the Audemedons. On the other, he knew he would be stripped of rank and court-martialed if they found out he was consorting with the Salrilians.

The booted up his data console and stared at the mail that he had recieved earlier that morning. He had read it nearly a dozen times in disbelief. Later he was to report to the academy grounds where he was to be promoted to Rear Admiral for his bravery and valor during the Battle for Sol. He would have command of the Chimaera , three gunships, and a wing of cruisers.

He sighed. Only one thing remained that could convince the Prophets that hhe meant business. A pre-emptive strike. One that he was now authorized to order.

------------------
Never put all your ranking officers in a shuttle.