Talosian Chronicles 3: Talosian Alliance Page 28

  "Thank you, Admiral!" Gabriel replied grinning. "One step ahead of us again I see."

  Ian returned the man's smile. "I have to be Councilor, you're a fast bunch!"

  Because Gabriel sat, yielding the floor, Luke again called for the vote on the ARC request. It was unanimously approved.

  "One last thing, before we dig into the domestic stuff. Councilors, we are facing a temporary time of military chaos, I feel we need to let Admiral Williams have increased freedom to act during this time. If he needs to shift construction focus, or approve a major change, he will not have the time to wait for us to approve it. Although what I have in mind is pretty much the way it already is, I would like to make it official; until the conclusion of the Beta Hydri Campaign, we should allow Admiral Williams free reign to do what he needs to get done."

  "I'll second," Gabriel added, nodding. "Like you said, we're only making it official."

  "Third!" Two other councilors said at the same time.

  Luke chuckled and struck the gavel. "Motion Carries. I've been wanting an excuse to say this; Admiral; 'git 'er done'!"

  Pleiades One Orbital Shipyard

  VIP quarters, Admiral Williams and Family (temporary residence)

  High Orbit, Planet Atlas

  Centauri System, Sol Sector

  "Why are we staying up here when we have a very nice house on the planet?" Talena asked.

  "Sorry, Little Kitten, I have to stay close to where the action is, and that's up here," Ian replied. "Besides, we have to stay close to the ship in case we have to launch."

  "Don't worry about her, Ian. She's just pissed that she couldn't go back to Earth with Cindy," Beth replied.

  "We're not doing anything, the Prometheus is handling system patrols, and the ship is being worked on. We couldn't launch right now anyway!" Talena replied.

  "In case you forgot, there is an entire Imperial fleet less than twenty light years from here, and they're not very happy with us right now. What would happen if they decided to go looking for the ship that destroyed their shipyard?" Jenny asked.

  "I know, I know," Talena replied. "It's just that, Cindy just got back, and she had to leave again!"

  "I'm sorry, Talena. I had to send them to protect Commodore Hawkins while he handles things on Earth. If it helps, she would have been leaving again anyway to take the Damocles back to Phoenix Base for upgrades, that’s just the way it is for a Raptor commander," Ian explained.

  "Mommy Ta'ena, why did Mommy Cinny leave us?" little Sean asked.

  Joshua nudged his brother. "Shh, it’s secret!"

  Ian almost cried and sat down in the middle of where the kids had been playing. "Gather around kids."

  The four little ones moved close to their father, and he pulled little Sean onto his lap. "Mommy Cindy didn't want to leave you, kidlings. But she felt she had to. You see, there are some very bad men out in the galaxy, and Momma Cindy felt it was up to her and her team to get the training needed to stop them from hurting people. She now has the training, and she has been working hard to make sure that no bad men come here and hurt any of us. It's not a secret, but some of the things she does are. Do you understand?"

  Angela looked up at him. "They must be really bad men for Momma to do that."

  Ian nodded gravely. "They are very bad men, sweetheart. So bad that Mommy Cindy and her friends have to search for, and stop them before they can hurt people. That's why what they do is secret, so the bad men don't know they are coming."

  "When will she be coming back, Daddy?" Sean asked.

  "I don't know son, there are a lot of bad men out there, but she is working very hard to stop them. Some of the bad men are very important, and very hard to find. I do know she really misses all of you," Ian said.

  "We miss her too, Daddy," little Jean said.

  "I'll tell you what, if you're all really good, we'll try to call her tonight, and you can tell her how much you love her okay?" Ian said.

  "Okay, Daddy! We'll be really good!" Joshua said, smiling. "Promise!"

  Ian took a few minutes to play with the children, but duty called to him, and he had to get back to work. But as he stood up, the woman stopped him.

  "Ian, we need to have a family discussion. We don't need to do it now, but I wanted to tell you what it's about so you can think about it," Beth said. Both Jenny and Talena stood beside her in support.

  "Have I done something wrong?" Ian asked, a little intimidated by their united front.

  "No, of course not! It's only that we want you to agree to this. You see, Talena wants to have your baby," Beth explained in a matter-of-fact voice.

  The dead-pan delivery caught Ian flat footed. "Uh..." Ian said, intelligently. "I, uh, thought she was too small to have children?"

  Beth nodded. "She is, but she still wants to be a mother. She decided she wants you to be the father," Beth explained.

  "I don't think..." Ian was sinking fast and he knew it, the problem was; he didn't know where the eject button was. "Look, I love you very much, Talena, but I just couldn't... you're like my daughter!"

  "Ian, she doesn't want to have sex with you!" Jenny said, rolling her eyes. All of the girls were enjoying this.

  "Hold it!" Ian said putting both hands up in front of him. "You just told me Talena wants to have a baby by me, You confirm that she can't have children because of extended cryo-sleep, and you tell me that she doesn't want to have sex with me. I'm really confused here."

  "I will donate an egg, you will donate sperm, Beth will put them together, and Jenny will carry and give birth to it." Talena said, reasonably. "I love you too, by the way!"

  "Oh!" Ian said, again feeling like a rocket scientist. "Now that I understand better, yeah, when do you plan on doing this?"

  "The meeting, or the insemination?" Beth asked.

  "Well, I meant the procedure, you all know damn good and well that I'm going to agree to it!" Ian said. "I don't stand a chance against all three of you!"

  "We can do it anytime you can swing by the MainMed and leave the specimen," Beth asked. "I'm sure we can find someone willing to help you if you need it."

  Ian gave her a dirty look. "Can it wait until we get back on the ship?"

  "Yes it can, just let me know when you'll be there, so I can get all the women to strip for you!" Beth teased. "We all understand how much inspiration you'll need!"

  When he finally got to his borrowed office, Ian noticed a message from Maia, and played that first.

  "Admiral, the upgrades to the Adonis are completed and tested. The engineering team is also trained on the new systems. We can release the ship at any time," Maia said.

  He opened a comm to the Station AI, and she materialized in front of his desk. "You called me, Sir?"

  "Yes, Maia. Have the prisoners been moved to the Adonis' brig?" Ian asked.

  "Yes sir, security took care of that yesterday. Minister Laskar's agents have cleared the remainder of the crew, and they have been returned to the ship as well, as per Admiral Goya's request," she said.

  "Excellent work. Please notify the Admiral and his delegation that the Adonis is ready to depart as soon as he appoints a command crew for him," Ian replied.

  "At once, Sir!" she replied, cheerfully.

  Ian winked at her. "Dismissed."

  Smiling, she faded out. Ian then called his aide. "Mel, when is Colonel Anders due to arrive?"

  "He landed about five minutes ago, Sir. He should be here any minute," Mel replied just as the door chime rang.

  "Come!" he called and Ty entered Ian's temporary office.

  "Damn, is it just me, or do the offices get smaller the higher up in rank you go?" Ty said by way of greeting.

  Ian stood and offered the man his hand. "Good to see you again, Ty. How are things going?"

  Ty grinned and sat down after shaking Ian's hand. "Uh oh, something big must be cooking, you only ask me how things are going when you’re about to kick my legs out from under me!"

  Ian laughed. "You got me. Have you been
keeping up to date on the Beta Hydri issue?"

  "Yeah, I've got four teams living in their ships because of it," Ty said.

  "How many teams can we field, total?" Ian asked.

  Once all the Raptors get back from Phoenix Base, I can deploy ten teams. I'm officially assigning the Damocles and Hephaestus to Star Dancer. Which would leave eight. I was going to station the rest around the sector as a rapid response force, but I'm not in love with that plan. What are you thinking? Sending them to Beta Hydri?" Ty asked.

  "I was thinking of assigning a couple of them to the ARC task force. Raising hell in a system just like this is what we designed the program for, after all," Ian said.

  Ty nodded. "If you're going to do that, I'd send them in now so they can get a good look around. That way they can give their commander options."

  "Who would you send?" Ian asked.

  "The Indians," Ty said. "Kiowa and Cherokee. They're both fully trained and ready to roll. The ships got back from Phoenix Base last night."

  Ian nodded. "Okay, get them briefed and ready to launch. I have to call the Alliance Chief of Operations anyway, so I'll tell him about it then."

  Ian then told Ty about the Alliance wanting to use the station, and everything that would entail. Ian asked Ty to create a plan for expanding his training facilities if and when the Alliance wanted to train their own teams. Ty left to get his teams ready, and plan for the arrival of the allied ships.

  "Mel, I need to talk to Admiral Hjoles, Chief of Operations for the ARC," Ian asked.

  "Yes Sir, it might take a minute, but I'll see what I can do," she replied.

  ARC Command Cruiser Victory Dawning

  Benesia Prime Alliance Fleet Staging Area

  Benesian System, Rataac Sector

  Fleet Admiral Broan T'rir, Commanding

  "I do not know what your Admiral Williams told the Chief of Staff, human, but he isn't here, and we are. The fact that humans only sent two small ships to aide us in this time of need is not lost on my commanders. It is obvious to us that humans no longer have the Gronus to continue this fight, so you can just get back in your tiny ships and go home. We don't need you here, and you might just get hurt when the fighting starts," the heavily muscled, short man said.

  "You are correct Admiral, you do not know what Admiral Williams said to Admiral Hjoles. I don't either. However, before you dismiss us out of hand, I think you should know that we have been in the Beta Hydri System for the last week and a half getting ready for you to finally get here," Major Lightfeather said. "You might want to know that the enemy knows you are coming and has prepared for your arrival."

  The small being grunted. "So you know how to hide, cowards usually do. Return to your home planet and hide there."

  Major Cromwell put her hand on her comrade's shoulder. "I think I know how to handle this, Brad."

  Major Brad Lightfeather of the Kiowa nodded and stepped back before he lost his temper. This arrogant ass was trying his patience.

  Major Cromwell was not a slight woman; she was tall, and heavily built, but she had a reputation for keeping her temper in impossible situations.

  However, Brad thought she had lost her mind when she stepped up to the obviously strong being and drew her weapon. Instead of shooting him in the head however, she unloaded it, and dropped it to the floor in front of him. The action had obviously pissed the shorter being off, and he stood.

  Next she unsealed her armor, and let it fall off her body, again falling to the floor in front of the now obviously pissed off Admiral. Finally she removed her survival knife that she wore under her armor, and dropped it at his feet. She stood there calmly facing the now fully enraged being.

  "You have no idea what you just did, human. I suggest you put your equipment back on and return to your ships before you get killed," The small admiral growled.

  Jana Cromwell just looked down at him disdainfully, snorted in derision and turned her back on the being. "I knew it," she said. "All mouth and no gronus. I wonder how you ever made it to Admiral? Perhaps your dam, uhn!" she said as the furiously angry admiral tackled her from the rear.

  She had been waiting for it though, and rolled him off and returned to her feet, spinning to face him. The rest of the bridge was deathly quiet while the two fought. The two combatants seemed evenly matched at first, until the admiral landed a solid punch to Jana, knocking her back several feet and dropping her to her knees.

  The Admiral, thinking he had beaten her, charged forward to finish this upstart human. He had no way to know that Jana had set the whole thing up, Brad could see it coming though, and flinched when she unleashed the blow into the short being's jaw. The crack of the blow was clearly heard by everyone on the bridge of the flagship and the admiral flew backwards ten feet to land, motionless on the deck. Jana sprang onto his chest, turned his head slightly and drew back her arm for the killing blow......

  "Yield!" the Captain yelled. "He yields, do not kill him."

  "I hear no such plea from him! Why should I yield?" Jana yelled back.

  "He had no right to insult you, yes, his shameful actions should cost him his life, but he still has a purpose. Let him live with the shame of defeat," the Captain explained. It was all part of the ritual, and Jana knew it. Brad hadn't had time to study all traditions of the races involved, but Jana had. This had been the only way they would have gotten through to this stubborn admiral once he decided to cast them out.

  Jana stood, leaving the admiral alive. "Understand this, all of you. We are not Talosian, we are Terran. The Talosians are also human, but there is an internal problem they are dealing with. This is not weakness. This is curing it. They are aware that some of their warriors have cast out their honor. This is why they are not here, they are curing this cancer in themselves to better serve the Alliance."

  "The fact that some of them have cast out their honor is only proof the race is flawed, human," another being said. Jana moved so fast that she was on him before he could duck, and knocked him to the floor. "You are a fool, sub-commander! Or do you forget the events of your own history when millions of fathers died because you had the same issues? Does that, then make you a flawed race also, Croanian? You were not only beaten by a human, I am also a female!"

  When no one answered her, she slowly returned to her equipment. "Call a healer for the Admiral."

  The Captain nodded once and an underling made the call. Then he spoke. "How do you know of our customs and our history, human?"

  "You will address me as Major, Senior Captain, not 'human'." Jana slowly began putting her armor back on. "I was warned that we might have... difficulty convincing you of our commitment to the cause, so I did some reading. Now, pay attention to what Major Lightfeather has to tell you, before we have to make more examples of you."

  It took two more days of meetings to adjust the fleet's intended attack plan. The Empire had indeed known they were coming and had made some serious preparations for it. But finally, with the two Terran Raptors leading them, the Third Alliance battle fleet jumped to the Beta Hydri system.

  To be continued...

  About the Author

  Ben Winston (1965 - ?) was born in Iowa and grew up in Minnesota on the family dairy farm. Upon reaching adulthood, he joined the United States Army as a communications technician. Before getting out of the military, he decided to go to school for computer electronics.

  Shortly after getting out of the military, and after getting a new job with an over-seas company, he was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease. A month after beginning the new job, he was laid off due to budget over-runs on the project he was hired for. Upon returning to the United States, he had difficulty maintaining employment because of the chronic illness.

  He began writing as a form of stress release, from being home bound and not being able to work, and found he liked writing erotica. Ben wrote a trilogy called the Talosian Chronicles (Currently in rewrite to remove the graphic sex and finalized his vision of the story). The first book, Star Dancer,
won awards and was nominated for many others by the online communities where it was posted.

  Ben Winston returned to school for literature, after completion, he began writing professionally. Being an avid fan of science fiction he focused on this genre. He was, and still is, influenced and inspired by Gene Roddenberry, Anne McCaffery, David Weber, Isaac Asimov, and Ray Bradbury. Some of his favorite movies and TV shows are; Battlestar Galactica (both versions), Andromeda, Star Trek, Firefly, Star Wars, and many of the B-rated movies that were actually box-office bombs.

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  Ben Winston

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  Books Published by Blue Space Publications, LLC.

  by Ben Winston

  Pollux Paradox

  Tides of Mars

  Tides of Mars (Omnibus)

  Ascension – Book I

  Conflict – Book II

  Talosian Chronicles

  Olympus – Book I

  Star Dancer – Book II

  Talosian Alliance – Book III

  *Neptune’s Massif – Book IV (Upcoming)