Author's note: I want this to be an EVO only story! None of that bizarre crap I see on the other stories.

Captain Wright was sitting at a bar on Mira, sipping miranu coffee. When...

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The alarm klaxons sounded
"Helluva day off" Captain Wright thought to himself. Captain Wright pulls out a communicator. "Commander Moore, prepare the ship for combat, I'll be there in 10 minutes."
Captain Wright runs to his ship, the S.S. Excalibur.
The S.S. Excalibur is a tweaked out UE Cruiser with all sorts of Crescent and Miranu modifications made to it. You see, Captain Wright manipulated all three sides during the crescent war, and as a result, he is one of the most wanted people in the Crescent. "Goddamn renegades" the captain thought as he raced towards the bridge of his ship. "Lieutenant Modesitt, get us flying so we can fight those idiots, Lieutenant Conant, raise shields, arm weapons."
"Right away sir." The lieutenants replied in near unison.
"Ensign Kelley, how many renegade ships are there?"
Ensign Kelley replied in a hush, almost frightened voice "They're not renegades sir, they're Voinians."

"VOINIANS?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!" Captain Wright exclaimed.
"What the hell?" Commander Moore said as well.
:Damn, I'm not prepared to fight Voinians, I've got a crescent outfit: Captain Wright thought to himself. What he said however was quite different. "What are those dirty bastards doing in Miranu space?"
"Unknown ca-4 more Voinian vessels coming out of hyperspace! That makes 18, not including fighters!" Ensign Modesitt replied
"(^$*&@!!!!" Exclaimed Captain Wright as neutron fire rocked the ship "Put us into cloak. Pronto!"
"Shields have stabilized at 90% and are holding, cloak safely established" Lieutenant Conant dutifully reported.
"Munson, why do you think the Voinian's are out this far?"
"I honestly have no idea. All Voinian behavior in the past few months has been nothing out of the ordinary." Wright's science officer Munson replied
Captain Wright thought :What the hell am I gonna do now?:

(This message has been edited by Gilgamesh (edited 09-29-2000).)

Fortunately, even with all the political manuevering he had done in the Crescent, Captain Wright was still well liked by the Miranu. He had done many missions for the Zachit--he had learned about the powerful North Tip Renegades through them--and he was able to land anywhere in Miranu space. He immediately jumped out of system; after a few stops at the southern Miranu worlds, Captain Wright soon made it to Earth. He was immediately given an audience with Admiral McPherson himself. The admiral started talking as soon as Captain Wright entered his office, "This threat is one we have foreseen for a while. Actually, I'm surprised they haven't done this sooner. Let me explain. The Voinians have a few worlds very close to some outlying parts of the Crescent. It would be very easy for them to simply establish a few small, secret refuelling posts through the western corner of the Crescent area and begin attacking Crescent worlds, where their ships are practically invincible. After a few threats, they should be able to force all of the Strands, and maybe even the Miranu, to join them against us. That, I don't need to tell you, would mean the destruction of the human race." Captain Wright simply stared for a few moments before he recovered his composure. With admirable coolness, he said simply, "Let me guess who gets the job of stopping them."

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I can't think of anything else to write...

"You're probably wrong," said Admiral McPherson. "A situation like this can't be solved by brash heroics, no matter how well you or anyone else does alone. Heck, if you could stop this you could go defeat the Voinian empire for us right now."
"What's the plan?" asked Capt. Wright.
"We need to help the Crescent fight the Voinians. As you know, their weapons don't do much against Voinians...except persuit missiles and defense pods. We already have a good relationship with the Miranu, so getting through to the Zachit shouldn't be a problem. However, the Miranu are peaceful and the Zachit aren't a very large organization."
"What are you proposing, and how do I fit in? You wouldn't be telling me all this if you didn't want me to do something," prodded Capt. Wright.
"I'm getting there. I feel we need to ally with at least one of the strands, and show them how to make blaze technology. If we can get a good production of anti-Voinian weapons within the crescent our chances will be that much greater."
"Hang on a second. If we ally with a strand, won't the other strands turn on us? They'll take it as a reason for war and strike us while we're weak; fighting the Voinians."
"Patience, Captain Wright. You keep stopping me." Capt. Wright grumbles an OK. "I'm hoping the other strands will realize they're threatened by the Voinians too, and mind their business, or even help us. I'm probably dreaming, but optimally I'd try to unite the strands against the new Voinian crescent threat."
"So what do you want from...right..."
"Good, you're learning. What I want from you is for you to initiate diplomacy with the Miranu and Zachit, which shouldn't be too hard since you're on good terms with them. Also, since you know the most about strand territory, see if you can get a feel for their position...if they'll let you land," finished Admiral McPherson with a half-chuckle.
"You've got to be kidding."
"Nope. I've got a hunch that, under all that politics, the strands have a quiet respect for you..."

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:A quiet respect, huh?: Captain Wright thought to himself on the bridge as the Excalibur was jumping out of the Sol System. :Never looked at it that way myself, I always thought the strands were a psychotic infighting race of maniacs with killer technology. Oh well, I'll give it a shot. What's the worst that could happen? Well, besides the brutal torture which all strands give traitors to their kind. I think I'll visit the Azdgari first. They tend to be a bit more forgiving:

weeks pass....

"Entering the Gazdair system, captain."
"Captain, we're being hailed."
"Captain Wright of the S.S. Excalibur, you are to land on Council station, and we will discuss the Voinian threat upon your arrival," rasped a voice with a thick Crescent accent.
:One step ahead of everyone else. As always: Captain Wright personally thought.

Under the watchful eyes of the mysterious captain of the Lazira, Ali Saidi, the Excalibur gracefully glided into the dock on Council Station. Captain Wright was greeted by a cadre of armored, masked, heavy-set, but unmistakably alien guards. "These people sure don't seem to like taking chances," he muttered to himself. The guards escorted Captain Wright through a maze of passageways before the group finally reached a large door. The guards stopped and motioned the captain to enter.

The room was almost empty, except for a high dais opposite the door. On it, behind a large semicircular table, sat 18 frowning aliens--clearly members of the Gadzair, the ancestors of the three Strands.

One of them, who seemed to be the leader of the group, started speaking in lilted, but understandable, Basic. "We have heard of your exploits, and your mission. We have encountered these Voinians you speak of in the past, and they, we have found, are not agreeable people." The captain was surprised to clearly see the grave councilman smile. He obviously had a Zidagar streak in him. He continued, "We all agree that your request is valid. However, although we do hold some sway among the Strands, even we may not be able to convince them to join each other against this invasion. But we will do all we can to help. We do not want the total destruction of the Crescent, as well as the human race. I, at least, find you very interesting." The councilman smiled again, and Captain Wright breathed a sigh of relief. The councilman began speaking, "We suggest you pay the Zidagar a visit first. They are closest to the Voinians, and they might be more amenable to your request, especially they, of all the Strands, will probably need the most help against the Voinians. We will send you a letter to help support your request. Good luck." Captain Wright was stunned. He slowly nodded and walked out of the room.

...A few days later...

Finally, the Excalibur jumped into the Zidagar system. "Zidagar traffic control reads you, Excalibur. Begin initial approach," blared the comm. The Excalibur began to fire its reverse thrusters in preparation of the landing.

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I can't think of anything else to write...

I hate to continue my own story, but I kind of liked this string, and it looks like it's dying...and since I'm on a sidebar already, when I say visit my website, I mean it!!! Look for the link in my signature. Tell me what you think; there's a guestbook up already, and a poll on the bottom.

The Zidagar official Captain Wright managed to talk to (even the regular citizens seemed to hate him with a passion) suddenly burst into tears when Captain Wright told him of the Voinian invasion. "Well, I guess we can always evacuate to the South Tip or something," the official sobbed. Captain Wright sighed to himself. These Zidagar were always way too dramatic. "Calm down," Captain Wright soothed the alien, who had already flooded his desk with tears. "There's still hope. That's what I came here to talk to you about." The alien looked up, already with drier eyes. "There is?"

Captain Wright explained his plan to him and showed him the letter from the Council. Obviously concealing disgust, the official agreed. "If these Voinians are as powerful as you say they are, we will be practically helpless when they attack us. Their armor will make them practically invincible to even our phase disruption beams. I don't know if you can be trusted with this mission, but your service so far has been notable, if this letter from the Gadzair speaks truly. Visit the Azdgari; they are often friendlier than the Igadzra. See what they say about this. If we unite, we still have a chance. And the weapons you speak of here...it should be fairly easy to fabricate weapons to destroy armor. If you can bring us a sample of human weaponry..." The Zidagar official looked at him hopefully.

Admiral McPherson was obviously elated to see Captain Wright. "All right, we'll have a few blueprints and samples made up for you soon. Meanwhile, enjoy the Saalian brandy..."

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I can't think of anything else to write...

"you may land on pad 567" came the voice of a solom azdara.
"Ahh captain Wright"says the chief of millitary operations
"i believe we have something to discuss"
"indeed we do ?"
"ishmael"
"there has been a new threat that could destroy th"
"i know the voinans. we have heard of the crisis already have our best engineers working on a way to remedy the weapons problem. i also know you have come here to ask that we unite together with the other strands in order to fight off a common enemy. we are not sure of a response. we will not ally with the zidagar unless the igadzra ally and the zidagar agree to close hyperspace jumping areas on our borders to ease our peoples fear. you know they destroyed our home planet and we will not have them doublecross us. we will send them a message, in the meantime i suggest you pay a visit to the igadzra."
"i will come back after my visit with the igadzra for an answer"said captain wright as he walks out the room
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mean while miranu defenses continue to be hamered away and voinan encroachment into U.E. space continued as U.E. ships were stretched thin among the crescent and border areas. meanwhile renegades see their chance to attack as they destroy and disrupt the flank of the U.E. and lunge forward into the soft underbelly of the defensless planets. and strike to towards the throat of the U.E. where life bubbles so close to the surface.

------------------
A jedi's strengh flows through the force
luke do not underestimate the powers of the darkside
I have acepted that you were once Anakin Skywalker my father
young jedi only now do you truly understand the powers of the darkside
Oh You Will Be, You Will Be

Before he left, Captain Wright turned around. "Ishmael? What in the galaxy does that mean??? And why do you leave words half-finished and mispelled?" The Adzgari replied, "Nothing...they're all just a manifestation of my original author's subconscious." Captain Wright continued, "How did I get here? I thought I was on Sol? The last thing I remember seems to have been something about Saalian brandy and Admiral McPherson..." The Adzgari replied, "You must have had a really long hangover, I guess." Clearly unsatisfied, Captain Wright mumbled his thanks and left.

After a few days of very careful manuevering, during which he was very thankful of the Council's cooperation, Captain Wright managed to secure an audience with an Igadzra military officer. After a few days of waiting--while, Captain Wright was sure, the Igadzra pored over every single aspect of the letter from the Council he had given them to ensure its authenticity--the officer finally made an appearance in Wright's hangar bay, along with a whole squad of specially trained troopers. "You may come with us," the captain of the trooper squad said in an even monotone. Captain Wright and Commander Moore disembarked.

After a few hours of wandering blindfolded (the Igadzra military officer had explained it was a simple precaution to prevent him from disclosing the location of the top-secret base to which they were going), the small group finally arrived. The squad left, and the officer took the two humans into a conference room.

Again, as he had done with the Zidagar, Captain Wright explained his mission. The alien didn't seem to like the idea of cooperating with the other Strands, but he was forced to agree. "Although the Voinians are indeed very distant from us, we do have to prepare for them. They do not seem to be a species we can trust. I will go with you to make sure you do not betray us. Meanwhile, we will work together with the Adzgari and the Zidagar on a weapon that is potent against armor. Now I will accompany you to your ship." Commander Moore began to protest, but Captain Wright kicked him under the table. "All right. Lead the way," said Commander Moore through teeth clenched in pain.

The Excalibur arrived in the Sol system. Captain Wright suppressed his incredible sense of deja vu and gave the order to Lieutenant Modesitt to lay in a course for Earth.

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I can't think of anything else to write...

(This message has been edited by shayborg (edited 10-03-2000).)

after talking with generals it was said that to prevent the collapse of the U.E. that the renegade worlds have to be obliterated. with that in mind captain Wright headed to the bar to dig up some help. after several comunicaes and some good talking he was able to dig up some escorts. "lets be off to obliterate the renegades all ships lay in a coarse. we want to capture the worlds if possible so take out space craft only. lets go" says wright as the hyper out. soon after engaging the first of the renegades they realized they had won. the renegades took out a third of the fleet but lost their worlds. suddenly"captain sensors detect an unidentified vessel coming out of hyperspace, its ah markings match that of the renegades sir"said commander moore. "well we should have enough ships to destroy it""sir sensors show it has a VOINAN ESCORT. SIR 2 DREADNAUGHTS closing in from the rear" "attention fleet were out flanked all craft retreat we will rondevue in huron.lietenant duron send a message to earth, we need more ships the renegades have sided with the voinans"

yes admiral mcphearson i heard of the renegade problem and against my better judgement i will send you 3 igadzra warships for you to modify to be more effective"said the igadzra cheif of opperations"in return cheif i am sending schmatics of our blaze technology so you can reoutfit your own ships at your own accord"replied the admiral. then the zidara cut in "admiral as you are well aware by now we have modified our beam weapon to be more destrucive against armor. we are also sending you some ships to outfit and use against the voinan mennace"
"how many"
"how does 50 fighters and 25 cruisers sound"
"how does it sound, well it sounds like that should be enough to fight of the dreadnaughts, and with a few special modifications we expect most of them will come back. thank you my comrads and we wish you peace and soon"said mcphearson

comander thanas in charge of sensors"sir we are detecting massive amounts of voinan ships building up in one system, it appears they are going to try and end it sir"
"alright i want 2 igadzra warships a U.E. destroyer carrier and cruiser to jump in from the galactic north. while they begin to engage i want the remaing igadzra and the zidagar cruisers to come in from the galactic south to outflank them, once both have engaged i want 25 of the zidajar fighters and 3 destroyers to jump in from the west, and the rest of the zidajar fighters and our 3 carriers 1 cruiser and 3 destroyers to come in from the east.i wanna trap the bastards. have all remaing ships on call to jump in as backup if needed. i want the defense fleets from luna and earth to make a sudden attack in from the east and go in and take voinan worlds and the defense fleet from huron to cordinat with the emalpha in order to jump in and take the northern colonies"said mcphearson
general message to all allied goverments we have just done a really risky manuver and appreciate any and all ships that can be sent

------------------
A jedi's strengh flows through the force
luke do not underestimate the powers of the darkside
I have acepted that you were once Anakin Skywalker my father
young jedi only now do you truly understand the powers of the darkside
Oh You Will Be, You Will Be

Captain Wright watched from the helm of his ship, which he kept pretty far out of the fight, only bothering to destroy heavy fighters or kraits that came too close. He really felt like just basking in the destruction of Voinians and renegades that he had so painstakingly brought about. But just when the last few Voinian ships and renegades seemed to have been destroyed, two more fleets jumped in. One was composed of a huge number of South Tip Renegades. The other was made up of heavily modified Azdgari warships and fighters, armed with blaze technologies. Ensign Kelley whistled. "Boy, this is going to be fun to watch," said the Captain.

The renegade Crescent fighters kept strafing the Zidagar and Igadzra ships, while the UE warships, fairly successfully, tried to destroy them using turrets. Captain Wright even brought in the SS Excalibur to help kill the Crescent fighters; he knew he captained one of the few ships in the battle that had phase weaponry, other than the renegades. The modified Azdaras, meanwhile, gracefully weaved in and out of the renegades' loose formation of Crescent Warships, Laziras and Aradas, spitting death as they went. The renegades were quickly dispatched with the help of the Adzgari. "Glad you could join us, Azdgari," crackled the comm. It was Admiral McPherson on an open channel to the whole allied fleet. "Congratulations to all of you. We have done something great today. But the battle is not yet won. Next, waiting for us, lies Voinia itself."

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I can't think of anything else to write...

5 weeks later............

"The Voinians have been quite surprised at the strands and the United Earth's quick cooperation. However, we're not the only ones with an ace up our sleeves." Mcpherson said.
:Amazing: Captain Wright thought :After all these centuries humans still talk like they're playing cards: "We need to investigate rumors of a new beam weapon and a new 'pod' system that the Voinians have developed."
Captain Wright drearily stated "and you want me to do it. Right?"
Admiral Mcpherson crisply countered "No. Wrong again. You will be dropping off the scout craft into Voinian space with the S.S. Excalibur."
Captain Wright replied with interest "What type of scout craft? Who's flying it?"
Admiral Mcpherson said with a bit of humor in his voice "It is an Azdara, and I believe you know the Azdgari pilot."
Captain Wright surprisingly thought :It's that guy! The one who got me working for the Azdgari. His name is... Godamnit! I forgot:
The Azdgari delightedly responded " Well it's good to see y-"
Whatever he was going to say got cut off by alarm klaxons
Captain Wright and the Azdgari both broke into a dead run for the Excalibur.
The Azdgari rushed to his personal Azdara inside the Excalibur, as it was taking off.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, Captain Wright never trusted Ue fighters, so he sold the bay and got an Azdara bay instead.
"Lieutnant Modesitt, what are we being attacked by?"
"Unknown sir"
"Unknown?" :WTF!?: is what he thought.
"Yes sir, unknown."
"lieutenant Conant, give me a shield reading on that thing, and put it on the monitor."
A ghastly looking, blotchy blood red medium-sized ship appeared on the monitor.
"Enemy ship's shields are holding at 2 million units."
"Good god! 2 million!"
"Sir, the alien vessel is firing on the lunar base!"
A thick crimson beam shot out of the front of the alien ship, destroying the entire lunar base.
Captain Wright spoke "I have 2 orders. Cloak, and RUN LIKE HELL!!!!!!!!!!!"

By the way, everyone replying to this topic is to ignore Wraith until he completes elementary school and learns some basic grammar and spelling

The following is not part of the story
----------------------------------------
Hey, that's harsh...(re: comment on wraith)

I must say though, wraith's parts haven't seemingly flown (past tense of flow?) well with the storyline.

Hey, Gilgamesh, the Voinians are the aliens, eh? Not an original idea, but nothing much had been done with it in the past.

I might write some more when I have more time.

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Thanks, all--(url="http://"http://www.geocities.com/evosite")my web site(/url) got over 50 hits in three days, and only 3 of them were me!!! Of course, that's about as many hits as Yahoo gets in a hundredth of a second, but it's good for me! Now back to the story...

And before I forget, let's not be too harsh on wraith, like Weepul says...I made fun of him in one of my replies to this post and I feel bad too. I guess he's in a hurry or something. Anyway, now I'll really start...

Lieutenant Modesitt obeyed immediately. The Voinian ship didn't seem to even see their disappearance after the cloaking device was turned on and the Excalibur left the system.

As soon as the ship started rumbling, indicating their drop out of hyperspace, the Adzgari pilot (I don't remember his name either!!!) began preparing for launch. He had felt terrible about the loss of the lunar base, but he had realized that there was nothing their cruiser could have done about it. But, in a way, he was glad he had seen that ship. It was a good reminder to him to fit a cloaking device onto his fighter. He didn't want to have that ship see him.

As soon as the Excalibur jumped into the Pokoren system, it launched one Azdara and cloaked along with the small fighter. The captain of the V.E.S. Borb, flagship of the rebuilt Voinian fleet, knew there was nothing he could do about it. He knew he was lucky that he had tricked the whole allied forces and seen the Excalibur at all in Pokoren. But he could not drive away a nagging thought--the Excalibur still survived, and while it existed, Galborb son of Borb still lived in fear.

On the Excalibur, tension was running high. The sudden appearance of the incredible Voinian warship had scared the whole crew, and everyone was afraid of a sudden failure of the cloaking device. To keep them busy, Captain Wright had ordered the whole crew to help in the analysis of the sensor data they had acquired during the attack on the lunar base. Wright had a strong suspicion that no Voinian warship could have shields that advanced. Now, he was going to find out if he was right.

In the briefing room on the Excalibur, Captain Wright began the senior officers' meeting. Everyone was looking at the sensor officer, Lieutenant Conant. Finally, after the introductions were over, Lieutenant Conant raised his hand and was given permission to speak. "Everyone," he began shakily, "the sensor data we got was fake."

================================================================================
I have to go.
Someone continue this!!!

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I can't think of anything else to write...

"The data was fake?!" Captain Wright was astonished
"yes, all of it. The image of the alien ship, the shield readings, the destruction of the lunar base, it was all fake."
"But why would someone go to all that trouble, using that much power and technology just to... get us out of the system..." Suddenly it dawned on Captain Wright
"Simple" First Officer Moore responded. "We know something that the Ue's don't."
"What do you mean by that? Explain." Captain Wright demanded.
"How many Ue leaders have been in the crescent, how many Ue leaders have had face to face combat experience with and against all of the crescent races, how many Ue leaders know in explicit detail the weaponry, tactics, specs and readouts of crescent ships? They're just learning to identify Miranu vessels!"
"But what does that have to do with anything?" Captain Wright asked.
"Suppose" said Moore "that a renegade faction of the various crescent races hijacked a few dozen crescent ships. And suppose, that, they staged an attack on Earth. The Ue government would be a lot less trusting to the crescent races."
"Are you saying that's what happened?" Captain Wright inquired.
"No. But it's certainly a possibility," Moore replied
"Alright then. We'll set a course for Sol and investigate," Wright ordered.

Days pass...

"Entering the Sol System captain"
"Sir, we're being hailed by Admiral Mcpherson"
"Wright, where the hell were you?!" Mcpherson angrily demanded

When the Excalibur landed on Earth, Captain Wright and the whole crew were astonished. Wrecked UE ships were scattered over the landscape, and several buildings seemed to have been demolished by crashing UE warships. It was just like holovids of the aftermath of the Battle of Sol the captain had seen. Admiral McPherson solemnly walked towards Wright. "Come with me," he simply stated.

Meanwhile, the Azdara pilot had finished his reconaissance fairly uneventfully. To his surprise, he had seen none of the powerful ships he had seen destroying Luna on his cloaked tour of the Voinian worlds. Now, he was returning to the rendezvous point at Pokoren. When he jumped in-system, cloaked as always, he was surprised to see no ships there. Even his hail failed to bring anyone out of hiding. He shrugged and jumped towards Earth. Three days later, he reached there and proceeded to land at Earth. He met Admiral McPherson and Captain Wright at the spaceport and continued with them to UE military headquarters.

"I'm sorry for bursting out like that, but we really needed you there." Admiral McPherson had been talking about the raid. A large group of raiders apparently from the Crescent had jumped in system and started laying waste to the practically helpless and hapless UE warships. Fortunately, a group of Azdgari engineers, escorted by a group of Azdgari warships and fighters, had happened to be jumping in system to look at blaze weapon factories. After a difficult battle, the raiders had been dispatched, but with huge human losses. "I had forgotten you were only a unofficial affiliate, and not required to stay. Anyway, now that we know what caused you to bolt like that, I can see why you did it. I must admit, the fake was pretty realistic...that's what caused the klaxons to go off like that. But the lunar base was still communicating with us, so we figured it hadn't been destroyed. We sent a few scouts looking for the projector that caused this mess, and found it on an asteroid and destroyed it." Looking at the Azdara pilot, the admiral continued, "I can also see why you didn't find any of those superships. They don't exist." The admiral chuckled.

...days pass...

In the same conference room, another meeting was being held between only Admiral McPherson and Captain Wright. "We used your data analysis techniques and found that the raiders were disguised also, using the same technique the Free Huroners used to look like militia ships--fake transponders. We almost fired on those Azdgari when they jumped in, but we barely stopped ourselves when they started shooting the raiders. Apparently, they could tell fake copies of themselves apart from themselves. But as long as these charades continue, we can't live in safety. Who knows? Maybe renegades or Voinians broadcasting as the UE could attack Igadzra outposts and get them mad at us. We've got to stop this. To this end, we're attacking Freeport, hopefully with your help." "When?" Captain Wright asked. "We launch in four days," replied Admiral McPherson. Captain Wright involuntarily gasped.

...Three weeks later...

"Jumping into the Riomor system," reported the helm officer. Captain Wright tensed up in preparation. "Stay sharp," he commanded his crew. The starlines slowed down and stopped.

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I can't think of anything else to write...