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  Instead of speaking, the guard simply bowed and escorted the Baron, the Madam, and her two stunned new charges out of the throne room. Leaving Shalo alone with the Emperor.

  "Now that we have handled that, we can get down to business. As we said before, we have urgent need of you, Shalo," the Emperor said.

  "I live to serve, Majesty. Your will is my duty," Shalo replied, clearly relieved to still be alive.

  "Shalo, once we heard of your incarceration for the lunacy we just dealt with, we had your records reviewed. You are not a normal, newly graduated student; before entering the Academy, you served in the military as a low level guard commander for your house. Is that correct?" the Emperor asked.

  "It is Majesty. It was an honor to serve," Shalo replied proudly.

  "Well, we're afraid what we are going to ask you to undertake now will seem more like punishment than a promotion. You have heard of our conquest of the Galaxy closest to ours?"

  Shalo only nodded.

  The Emperor smiled, stood and stepped down from the dais. Nodding to Shalo to follow him, he led the man around the throne to a small briefing room. "We have received some very troubling reports from our forces there. We would like to show you what we have seen." They had arrived in the small room and the Emperor clapped his hands once. "Display the report from the Benesian operation."

  The room darkened and holograms of the report began to play, showing a single human ship playing with the Imperial forces invading a sector. Shalo understood from the report that the mission had been to secure the system for an assault on a minor race of the Alliance protecting the galaxy. When it finished the Emperor asked him for his opinion.

  "Majesty, it is not my place to question this operation so far into Alliance space, I feel it should have worked. These tactics displayed by this human ship are the most important part of this report. So far, our involvement with the Alliance has been somewhat balanced. The human forces we have encountered prior to this point have not shown themselves to be superior fighters in any way. In fact, they show a notable lack of coordination, poor tactics, and disjointed, almost non-existent offensive ability.

  The ship in this report did not operate as a typical human ship would; this display is very troubling. Was this a fluke in that one commander had a flash of insight that allowed him to so easily evade our forces, or is this a new breed of commanders? Our intelligence has shown that there is trouble within the civilian government of the humans which would lend itself as an explanation for the poor over-all fighting ability of their fleets.

  "If this was not a fluke, and this is a new commander that has taken the field, he must be hunted down and destroyed at all costs. He must not be allowed to pass on his knowledge. He could very well cause us a lot of trouble in our conquest of the galaxy," Shalo said.

  The Emperor nodded his agreement and acceptance of Shalo's evaluation. "There is a lot of this you have no knowledge of. What we are about to tell you cannot leave this room."

  "I understand, Majesty," Shalo again bowed to his ruler.

  "We have received spy reports from within the human faction that they have discovered a lost colony. This colony supposedly found a crashed warship and rebuilt it before the humans discovered them. In that time, they have made technological advances that we do not have any information on. However, there is a report that this new group of humans are nothing like the existing ones. They are ambitious and protective of each other. Much more so that the humans we are familiar with. Unfortunately, we have little knowledge of this new group, as they have refused to join the Talosian faction, thus denying our spies access to them. Even their location is a mystery to us.

  “After reviewing this report, even before we could seek council from them, the priests came to us. They are greatly troubled by this development. They told me that this ‘new race’ of humans would bring an end to this war, and that they would eventually destroy the entire Empire. They told me they had a vision of this new race taking this city, of their warriors entering this palace while the city burned in the background.

  "Shalo, this cannot be allowed to happen. We are sending you to take command of the forces in that galaxy. In addition to prosecuting this war, you will hunt down this new race of humans and destroy them utterly. They represent a danger to this Empire we cannot allow to come to fruition," the Emperor said firmly.

  "I will, of course, do as you command, Majesty, however, are you sure I am the right person for this? Certainly there has to be many commanders on your staff that would be far more experienced for this," Shalo replied.

  The Emperor nodded. "We understand your doubts, Shalo. There are a few we could send, but you have not been conditioned as they have. You are not afraid of failure and I suspect do not see such things as failures but opportunities. Above all, you are not afraid of us." The Emperor smiled. "If we sent one of the others, they would be so afraid of failure that they would not do what needs to be done. They feel we will have them executed for these failures, as we have done to our commanders in the past. They do not understand the situation as you do, Shalo. We could not order you executed for military setbacks because you do not give up when they happen! You get mad and immediately work to either correct it, or adjust your tactics and strategy to compensate for it. No, we need you to undertake this mission for us, Shalo. None of the others will do as well as you.

  "We should also mention that you have been promoted, both in the military as well as in the noble listing. We have bestowed upon you the military rank of Fleet Admiral so you may perform your duty to us. However, the position also makes you our warden in this other galaxy. Because of the position, you must hold a rank no lower than Duke of the second circle. By making the two spoiled Hortes brats your wives, that allows us to assign you to the second circle, first tier of the nobility. From this day forward, you will be addressed as Lord Admiral, or Duke Caleb. Your immediate house will go with you. You will have to decide who to leave here to manage your affairs at court, and who you will take with you to manage your estates on Proferus Three," the Emperor explained.

  "Majesty, you honor me greatly, but such a promotion is far above my family’s station! I do not believe we have anyone suitable to represent us in court. We are a poor house, which is why I joined the military; we have little fluid capitol and few retainers. I do not think we could even hire anyone for the job," Shalo explained, trying to think his way through all the implications of this promotion. No one had ever been elevated so far in such a short period of time.

  "You have much more capital than you yet realize, Lord Admiral. As the warden for our new Galaxy, you receive the largest share of the profit gleaned in there. Come, there is much more that you will need to understand about your position. We have arranged for you to be briefed on your duties."

  "If I may, Majesty, what happened to the last force commander?" Shalo asked.

  Without turning to the new Admiral, the Emperor replied. "He surrendered to his fears and accepted his failure."

  ARC Liaison Offices

  Pleiades One Orbital Shipyard

  High Orbit, Planet Atlas

  Centauri System, Sol Sector

  Admiral Ian Williams smiled at the mannerisms of the ARC admiral that had been the commander of the fleet sent to the Rataac sector. The man was an ass of the highest order, but hid it well. He was condescending toward any human that was Talosian, but respectful toward Terran humans. Ian wondered, not for the first time, how he could tell the difference.

  "All repairs are ahead of schedule, and our wounded will be returned to duty or at least to their own ships within the week," Fleet Admiral Broan T'rir said. "This is a truly amazing facility you have built here, Admiral. I would never have believed humans could achieve so much with so little in such a short amount of time. Servicing our entire fleet with only one station and still remaining ahead of schedule..." he shook his head. "I dare say that such a feat would not be possible even on an Alliance station."

  "We are happy to help, Adm
iral. You have done us a great service, and we felt it only right to do everything we could to assist you," Ian replied.

  The short, very muscular being nodded his acceptance of that comment. "I am most impressed with your Raptor Team Commandos. They are by far a superior fighting force. In all my experience I have never seen, nor heard of, such a small force single-handedly destroying or capturing an enemy capitol class ship. That is a most amazing feat."

  "Forgive me, Admiral, but I would have thought you to find their methods to be less than honorable," Ian asked.

  T'rir shook his head. "There is no dishonor in the exploitation of the weakness of a superior enemy. The dishonor is on the enemy for having them and not correcting them to begin with. I will be speaking to the Matriarch about this force of yours. Perhaps an agreement can be reached for us to learn these methods from you."

  "We would be honored to instruct your people, Admiral. In fact, we have designed our training facility with the thought of offering training to the other races in the Alliance," Ian replied.

  "I would like to tour this facility before we depart your sector, if that might be permitted, Admiral," T'rir asked.

  "That can be arranged, Admiral. However, I do need to warn you that the exact location is classified. You will be taken to the facility by a Raptor team in a highly stealthed ship," Ian replied. "Once the Raptor departs this station, even we cannot track it any longer."

  "I assumed the training facility to be on the planet below. There is much wisdom in keeping that base a secret; once the enemy knows of its existence, it would become a priority target. On my honor, any information gleaned by myself, or any of my clan, as to the location of the Raptor training facility will not be recorded in any fashion nor passed on to any other beings," T'rir vowed.

  Ian knew it was not an empty oath; by phrasing it the way he did, T'rir would sacrifice his entire clan if the location was leaked by them. Ian bowed to him. "You're oath is accepted in the manner in which it is offered. I will arrange the tour for you. Has my Raptor Commander that defeated you joined your table?"

  In T'rir's culture, a combatant that wins a dual must join the table, have a meal with the defeated or his survivors, to assure all parties that the matter resulting in the dual has been resolved, or more duals will be fought. It was a tradition that had been started to ensure the end of clan wars.

  T'rir nodded. "She has, she and her fellow Commander also invited my staff to table after the battle. I must say, the food prepared was very good and the portions very pleasing. I have requested several casks of the beverage served to be delivered to my ship prior to our departure. She is a very honorable warrior to ask a previously defeated foe to her victory table."

  Ian nodded. "It is likely she did not see you as a foe, but as an ally when she asked you to table. If I may ask, what was the beverage she served?"

  "I believe it was a juice of fruit from your planet; a 'prove' fruit I believe," T'rir said.

  "Prune Juice?" Ian asked.

  "That is it! She commented that it would be the most palatable beverage she could find for our shared table. I have to agree with her; most times when we partake of alien foods we have... difficulties, later. There was no such discomfort this time, this prune juice not only tasted very good, it was greatly appreciated by my entire staff," the burly being replied.

  "Forgive me for changing the subject, Admiral. But I have received a troubling report from Alliance Support Command. It seems that they will not have transportation available for two of our heavily damaged ships, as well as a good portion of our salvage from the battle. I have been asked by my Matriarch to inquire if space can be made available to store these ships and salvage until we can return to retrieve it," T'rir asked.

  "Certainly, Admiral. I will have to get approval from the Council, but I'm certain an area can be set aside for your salvage. As for the damaged ships, why not simply leave them here in dry dock? We can rebuild them while they wait," Ian replied. "We did agree to support you as much as we could, I don't see something like that as out of line with that agreement. It would be much easier for you to fly the ships to where they are needed than to have them towed to your own facilities, when they could be repaired here," Ian replied, and touched his communicator. "Maia, can we have a moment of your time?"

  The now young-adult looking AI avatar materialized next to him. "Certainly Admiral, how may I assist you?"

  "Alliance support had planned on towing several of the most damaged ships back to their own facilities for repair or rebuild. Admiral T'rir has received word that transportation of these ships will be delayed because of a lack of available transportation. Will there be a problem if those ships were to remain here to be rebuilt or repaired?" Ian asked.

  "None at all, Sir, since I had not been informed of such a plan and have all Alliance ships on the board. Our current schedule includes the work needed to rebuild the ships towed back from the Rataac sector battle. Because they would require the most work, they have been moved down the list, but they are still on it," the AI replied.

  "I have misunderstood your schedule, AI Maia. I assumed that the reports I have been getting from your engineers excluded those ships," T'rir replied.

  Above the table between the two men, a holographic list appeared. It was a task list of needed repairs and the ships they were being done to.

  "My apologies, had I been aware of the lapse I would have corrected it immediately, Admiral. Here is the main service list for the station. As you can see, the Medium Cruiser Be'jien will be towed into gantry two, bay three later today. Once the Heavy Cruiser Oseonix is completed in two days, both of the Destroyers Hi'pie and the Ganjin will be brought in to gantry four, bay three. Next week, the two remaining light cruisers will be brought in and construction will begin on them. However, I should mention that because of the amount of damage to those ships, repairs will take the better part of a month," Maia explained.

  T'rir shook his head. "Simply amazing. I have seen repairs made this quickly before, but in those cases, they were either a temporary fix, or the work had been shoddy. My people tell me that neither is the case here. You are doing remarkable work here, and your assistance has been a major benefit to our forces. Perhaps we should revisit the issue of creating AI once again."

  Maia nodded. "The issue is a complex one and not without valid arguments on both sides. I know of the AI rebellion, and honestly cannot understand the logic of the AI that formed it. But then again, my situation has to be very different from the one it was in. As an AI myself, I cannot speak on the matter past what I just have. I am too removed from the issue."

  "I have observed you and the work you do here," T'rir replied. "You are not simply a tool used for a specific purpose. The main issue most have with AI is the sentience allowed by your programming. Many believe that by allowing you the freedom to make your own decisions, the Terrans have reopened the possibility of AI rebellion once again. After observing you, I feel that while that might be the case, is it not also true of any sentient race? You are not mistreated and, in fact, are treated as an equal by the engineers and artisans that work with you. In many issues your opinion is actively sought and valued by those you work with. You are treated with respect as an individual, not as a tool or a weapon. I believe that is the heart of the issue." He snorted. "Again I have side tracked myself! This new schedule is very helpful AI Maia, thank you for bringing it to my attention. If I have any more inquiries, I will direct them to you."

  Maia bowed to the Croanian senior officer. "It is my honor to be of assistance, Admiral."

  Terran Transit Authority

  Spaceport America

  New Mexico

  North American Continent

  Planet Earth

  Sol System, Sol Sector

  Janet Laskar had just finished the brief tour of the area assigned to them by the Space Port Authority. The construction workers had done their best to make it look as close to a standard airport terminal gate as they could. Her small tea
m was already there and had set up their equipment, and security was in place. Now all they needed were passengers.

  She also knew that the passengers should start arriving tomorrow. For now, flights would only be to the moon. If the people were going to another Terran facility, they would transfer to another ship there. Eventually, there would be a station in orbit that would handle that function as travel between planets became more common. She knew that eventually there would be large scale mass transit between many different worlds, but that would be after......

  ...after what?

  She felt her special ability tingling and knew that something, some event, was on the horizon of her ability. She had no idea what it was yet, but got the feeling it was not going to be good. She sighed. Sometimes she really hated having this ability, she felt she was becoming more of a harbinger of doom than anything else.

  She grinned, speaking of her premonitions, she caught a glimpse of the American Special Operations teams getting into position to try to capture them and their technology. The passenger shuttle sitting outside on the tarmac was already sealed up, and her people had been briefed. She glanced at the man and woman standing at the boarding podium, the place that would do the final scan of each person before allowing them on the shuttle. One of them was one of her people, the other was Major Hiro of the Raptor Samurai.