Chapter 8

This Paradise I give thee, count it thine
To till and keep, and of the fruit to eat:
Of every tree that in the garden grows
Eat freely with glad heart.
- John Milton -

Everyone on the command deck stood at attention while staring at Brian's image on the main screen.

"We offer our prayers and our thoughts for our fallen comrades in arms and convey their remains to the cosmos to which we will all return. We are starstuff, and someday we will all become starstuff." He saluted.

"Dust thou art, and to dust thou shalt return," Marty said.

Angie and her crew returned Brian's salute.

"Prepare to go to jump velocity, Commander," Angie said.

"Yes, Admiral."

A vast star field replaced Brian's image.

"Take us to jump speed, Delphi. Align us to the designated star."

"Yes, Angie."

"We could be jumping into a hornet's nest," Marty said.

"We have ten more nova devices," Angie said. "And Brian has six. We will destroy the planet if necessary."

"Hopefully, we won't have to."

"Jump will commence in five minutes, Angie."
"Synchronize count with the X-3001, Delphi."

"Yes, Angie."

The jump was routine, except for Moto and Masai. They were not used to the disturbing process.

"We have entered normal space, Angie."
"Reduce our velocity to 5000 kps, Delphi. Maintain stealth.

"Yes, Angie."

While the breaking engines screamed, Karl went to work. "This is a G0 V class star with a 1.08 mass, 1.12 radius, 1.2 luminosity, a 5860 K temperature, 90% metallicity and it's approximately nine plus billion years old."

"Sounds like a typical main sequence dwarf near its end," Marty said.

"That's right," Karl said. "We'll have to take care when we're closer in."

"Will it go nova?" Marty asked.

"It's too small for that. It'll go into a red giant phase."

"This star has the typical compliment of planets," George said. "There's a planet at 1.08 AU that could be habitable."

"The temperature is right," Lucia said.

"That planet has water and oxygen," Anna said.

"See anything out there, Ninja?" Marty asked.

"There are no enemy vessels in this sector," Ninja said.

"Adjust our course for the third planet, Delphi. Coordinate with the X-3001."

"Yes, Angie."

She stood up and straightened her jacket. "You mind the store. Give me an hour, and then come to my quarters. Honey can take over."

"Will do," Marty said, adding a smile.

"Are we in danger if that star goes to a red giant?" Marty asked Karl.

"We'll have plenty of warnings. There should be a sudden change in temperature and radiation right before it happens and the star will shrink down until the core reaches 100 million K. Basically, the star exhausts its supply of hydrogen and eventually starts fusing helium. When that happens the star expands from 1 to 1.5 AU."

"And, when that happens, goodbye planet," George said.

"How fast does all of this happen?" Marty asked.

"You tell us," Karl said. "Maybe if we hang around here we'll find out."

Marty kept quiet until it was time to meet Angie. "Take over, Honey."

"Yes, Martin."

Marty didn't have to press Angie's request button. The door opened the instant he approached her door. He went right to her couch and sat down.

Marty offered a placating smile. "I want you to know that the women are grateful for not having them punished."

"I'd like to propose a moratorium on discipline while we're on this mission," Angie said, not returning his smile. "A little practical joking helps relieve tensions."

"That's the conclusion that the men came to."

"Agreed, but does that apply to me?" Angie asked.

"You're the Admiral. It's your call."

"Okay," she said, grinning. "It applies to me."

"Surely, this isn't why you wanted to talk to me."

Angie sighed. "No, it's not. What I want to know is: do you think that we can trust Masai and Moto?"

"That's a tough question. What you're really asking is: are they spies for their respective governments? The answer is: it's possible. I'm sure that Rosie is keeping a big eye on us for her government."

"We need another member for the landing crew. I hate to ask someone without military training."

Marty rubbed his jaw. "Well, maybe Moto would be a good candidate."

"Why? All she has ever done is serve the pleasures of males."

"That's true, but I get the impression that she's tough.  I'll let Ninja train her. He likes her."

"Really?"

Marty grinned. "Yep. It's alien love. Ain't it wonderful."

She gave him a dismissive wave. "You're crazy."

"Yeah, crazy like a fox."

She laughed.

###

"We are in a stable orbit, Angie."

"Maintain stealth, Delphi."

"Yes, Angie."

"There are no signs of civilization," George said. "The planet has plenty of vegetation in the temperate and tropical zones. The oceans take up 75% of the planet's surface."

"Temperatures are in the 18 to 26 C range," Lucia said. "Some tropical locations are in the 30 to 40 C range."

"Oxygen is at 20%," Anne said. "The rest is nitrogen with low carbon dioxide."

"I have something interesting coming over the terminator," George said, switching it to the main screen.

Marty was the first to react. "What is that?"

"It looks like a military camp," George said. "See the long buildings."

"Launch an atmospheric probe, Delphi."

"Yes, Angie."

The probe launched and entered the planet's atmosphere.

"I'm not detecting any toxic gases," Anne said. "There is some evidence of biological residues, but that's not surprising considering that this planet has life."

"There is evidence of volcanic activity," Uma said. "I'm detecting a strong magnetic field."

"Good thing," Karl said. "This planet is being bombarded by a lot of radiation from the star."

"Will a landing party be safe without bio-suits?" Angie asked.

"We're not seeing anything to indicate that it wouldn't be," Ferris said. "The biological scans are not showing any serious pathogens."

"Launch a biometric probe, Delphi."

"Yes, Angie."

After the probe entered the atmosphere and released insect probes, images began to stream in."

"That camp is packed with people," Marty said. "They look like a mixed group."

"Are those humans?" Angie asked.

"If they're not, they are mighty close in appearance," Marty said.

"What the hell are humans doing all the way out here?" Angie asked.

"That's a good question," Marty said.

Angie's eyes ballooned. "Oh, shit!"

"Those are Dragons," Marty said.

"Bring the probes back, Delphi, and open a secure COM to the X-3001."

"Yes, Angie."

"What's up," Brian asked.

"Get your landing crews ready," Angie said. "We've spotted Dragons on the planet's surface. Delphi is sending you the coordinates. There are also many aliens there and what looks like humans."

"How is that possible?"

"We don't know, but we'll have to be careful when we engage the Dragons."

"Understood, Admiral."

"Listen up, people. We're going to engage the enemy, but we'll have to try and protect the aliens in those camps. Our landing party will launch first and move up in stealth mode before engaging. I'll send Honey and Brigit in the X-401 to give you ground support. I'll also have Brian launch two fighters to help with that."

Marty stood up. "Yes, Admiral." He turned to the crew. "Okay, Ninja. We're going into battle. I need you Uma, Lia and Karl, and you, Moto."

Marty led his landing crew down to the equipment deck. He opened the weapon lockers. "We'll take firearms on this landing. The Dragons have shielding against energy weapons, but they can't stop projectiles. Get into armor, people. Ninja, grab a mortar. We can use it to soften them up."

"Yes, Martin."

"Take a grenade launcher, Lia."

"Yes, sir."

"Mount up, people."

Marty and his crew climbed into a Lander and prepared to launch. He waited until the fighter had gone ahead before plunging the Lander into the atmosphere.

The landing zone was a small clearing about 500 meters away from the camp. When they were on the ground, Marty and his crew disembarked and ran out of the clearing. Hugging the forested area, they moved in silence up to a position near the camp. The alien trees appeared to be conifers. It didn't matter. They provided the cover that all soldiers value.

Marty keyed his helmet mic. "Alpha squad is in position."

"Copy that. Beta, Delta and Gamma squads are in position."

Marty peered through his viewer. He saw Dragons in a group near a metallic mesh fence that circled the camp, and he also noted that Dragons were in towers at the corners of the camp.

"Take out the towers," he said into his mic. "We'll put a few rounds into the main group before we advance."

"Copy that, Commander."

"Okay, Ninja, put a mortar round into that group of enemy."

"Yes, Martin."

Ninja adjusted the mortar to hit the target with a skill of an experienced soldier. The round exploded right on target, but it alerted a contingent of Dragons nearby to the attack. The marine squads took out the towers, but the battle was just getting started. Dragon troops attacked with a vengeance. Energy beams and bullets soon were crisscrossing the ground between the camp and the landing parties.

"Stay down," Marty yelled. "Return fire."

A group of Dragons approached, firing their weapons, but Uma and Lia began shooting back, stopping them. Marty and Ninja covered the flanks, shooting several enemy soldiers. Karl covered the rear.

The marine squads attacked the camp at a weak spot, killing several Dragons. Unfortunately, they took a few casualties in the process, but they established an important breach in the camp's fence.

Marty moved his people up to a position near the breeched fence, but enemy fire kept him from advancing.

"Fire a mortar into that group," he told Ninja.

Ninja did as ordered and blasted several Dragon to pieces. Moto fired her weapon with precision, taking out many of the enemy. Ninja was proud of her because she was his student.

"Look out, Lia," Marty shouted as two Dragon soldiers came up from the left.

Moto shot them before they could cause any damage. Ninja shot three more to stop the enemy advance. Lia dove into a hole just as an energy blast shot over her head. She got up and returned fire, while Moto and Ninja helped her.
Moto took a blast and fell back into the hole. Ninja went to her aid, but he soon discovered that she was okay, the armor suit taking the brunt of the damage.

The marine squads advanced through the hole in the fence and began a cleanup operation. Unfortunately, a Dragon regiment attacked from the rear, pinning everyone down with withering fire. Marty and his band of brothers (and sisters) tried to return fire, but the enemy fire was too intense.

"I need air support," Marty yelled into his mic. "We're under attack from the rear."

A fighter appeared overhead and fired a plasma bomb into the attacking Dragons. The explosion blew Marty and his crew off their feet.

"Jesus, that was too close!"

"Sorry about that, Commander."

"Are you people okay?" Marty yelled over the din of war.

"I can't hear anything," Uma said.

"You'll be fine," Marty said, slapping her back.

Marty led his crew to the fence and had Ninja cut into it so that they could enter the camp. Marines approached them.

"We're mopping up, Commander," a young brash lieutenant reported.

"Very good," Marty told him. "Where are the aliens?"

"They're hiding in the buildings, Commander."

"Get them out, Lieutenant."

He saluted. "Yes, sir."

The marines flushed the alien prisoners out of the barracks and made them stand in lines. Marty looked them over and decided he needed guidance.

"Hey, Angie, we have a big problem down here."

"What is it?"

"We have all sorts of aliens here, including humans, creatures that look almost human, Masai's people and Drak females as well as creatures I have no clue."

"How many are there?"

"Hundreds."

"What the hell were the Dragons doing with them?"

Marty sighed. "I don't think I really want to know."

"Well, find out, damn it."

"Yes, Admiral."

Marty went over to the humans who were wearing rags. Many of the other prisoners were naked or nearly naked. He approached a man who was thirty something and in good shape. Obviously, the prisoners had been well fed.

"Do you speak English?"

"Of course I do. I'm from Boston."

"I'm from Iowa," Marty said, removing his helmet. "What are you doing way out here?"

"Where is way out here?"

"You're on the other side of the galaxy."

The man's eyes widened. "You mean that humans can travel faster than light now?"

"Not really. We're able to create worm holes."

The man reacted with indifference to that revelation. "None of us know how we got here," he finally said. "I was sunning myself on Myrtle Beech when I saw this bright light and that's the last thing I remember before here."

"What's going on here?"

The humans exchanged glances before the man replied. "We don't know, but there are rumors floating around that we're their food. They take people away and we never see them again."

"How many have they taken?"

"Hundreds."

Marty sighed. "Hey, Angie, I found out what's going on here."

"What?"

"The Dragons are eating them."

"Shit! We'll have to get them out of there."

"Agreed, but there are too many of them. I recommend that we take the humans, pseudo humans and the Draks back to Masai's planet and then return for the rest. I think there's enough food here for those that will remain."

"Okay. Keep me informed."

"Yes, Admiral."

The young Lieutenant came over. "I think you should see this, Commander."

"Okay."

The marine led Marty to a refrigerated building. What he saw inside shocked him despite that fact that he had seen many gruesome sights in combat. At least twenty humans were hanging by their bound together feet from hooks. A few had been skinned with their bloody raw muscles exhibited like an anatomy display. Most had not been touched and these poor individuals were still alive and moaning and crying. A few partially butchered bodies lay on pan-type tables. Cuts of meat were stacked on shelves, neatly arranged as to what part of the body they were taken from.

"Take photos of this, get those living people down and out of here, and then torch this."

"Yes, Commander."

Marty wanted to throw up, but he didn't have time. He returned to the assembled aliens and ordered the marines to prepare them for transport.

"Hey, Angie, we'll need all the Landers."

"Okay, but get a move on. We could come under attack at any moment."

"Understood, Admiral."

###

Angie turned to Marty and sighed. "How are Onuki and Ferris coming with the examinations?"

"They're having a hell of a time of it," Marty said. "They did say that most of the prisoners are in good health. Evidently the Dragons like prime beef."

Angie made a disgusted face. "Stop it! You're making me sick, damn it. We have to determine if these Dragon aliens are only doing this in this section of the galaxy or this is a major invasion of the entire galaxy."

"First we have to find their home world," Marty said. "If they're coming from this part of the galaxy, then here is where we stop them."

"Agreed. Meantime we're burdened with transporting several hundred humans and aliens to safety."

"Jump will commence in ten minutes, Angie."
"Coordinate with the X-3001, Delphi."

"Yes, Angie."

Angie keyed the announcing system. "Listen up, people. We are going to jump in less than ten minutes. I suggest that you find a place to sit and get relaxed, or you may end up going mad."

"That should make them feel better," Marty teased her.

"Hey, I'm just stating the truth."

Marty got up. "I'll go help Onuki and Ferris get these people under control."

Angie watched him go to the elevator. She looked back at the humans seated on the command deck.

"We're taking you to a planet nearby that will be your temporary home until we return to Earth. We are on this side of the galaxy to find and destroy the aliens who imprisoned you."

"How long will that take?" a man asked.

"I wish I knew," Angie said. "We've taken casualties already. Hopefully, we can end this soon."

"Are these aliens on the planet that you're taking us going to eat us?" a woman asked.

"No. They're a very cultured and peaceful species that look very human-like. You will be well taken care of."

Marty was running around on the lower decks trying to calm aliens panicked by being packed into a space ship about to be sucked down into a singularity. Lia was busy trying to get information from the Drak females and the other pseudo huan aliens. Moto and Masai were assisting her.

"We're going to jump in a few minutes," Marty warned them. "Try to get them calmed down."

"Easy for you to say," Lia said, sounding harried. "They're frightened."

Marty held his hands up and smiled. "Please remain calm, people. Close your eyes and relax. The jump will only take a few minutes."

Oops! Too late. The deck began to spin and elongate, eliciting screams and cries.

Shit!

When the deck snapped back to normal, the crying subsided.

Marty grinned. "See, it's all over."

"Get up here, Commander," Angie said.

"Yes, Admiral."

Marty stormed onto the command deck and went directly to his navigation station.

"I've sent a message to the X-3002," Angie said. "We should get a reply in a few hours."

"How's the planet?" Marty asked George."

"It's still there," George said.

"I am not detecting enemy ships in this system," Ninja said. "However, I am picking up radiation signals at 30 AU that are the result of energy weapon discharges."

"That doesn't sound good," Marty said. "I hope that the X-3002 hasn't had to engage the enemy alone."

"Open a secure COM to the X-3001, Delphi."

"Yes, Angie."

"We have detected indications of a battle," Angie said. "We may have to search for the X-3002. It could be down."

"Understood, Admiral. If you wish, we could send out a fighter to do a search."

"That would be good, Commander. Keep me informed."

"Will do, Admiral."

"Take us as quickly as possible to Masai's planet, Delphi."

"Yes, Angie."

She turned to Marty. "I hope that the Superior Reagent of Masai's planet will help us with these people."

"I'm sure she will. She seems like a generous individual."

That seemed to calm her.

###

"We have achieved stable orbit, Angie."

"Good. Open up a COM to the planet, Delphi."

"Yes, Angie."

After several minutes, the Reagent's image appeared on the main screen.

"Welcome back, Commander. Your ship that was orbiting our moon left six cycles ago and our astronomers have recorded several energy emissions near one of the large planets orbiting around our star."

"We are investigating that," Angie said. "We believe that our ship engaged the evil aliens."

"We do not know of this."

"We have a request," Angie said. "We have recovered several hundred people from a planet in a star system near yours. They were being held by the evil aliens, and we have strong evidence that they were being eaten by these evil aliens. The people that we have rescued include our people, your people and many other alien species. We respectively request that you allow us to transport them to your planet and that you provide for them while we pursue the evil aliens."

"May I speak to Masai?"

"Yes." Angie gestured to Masai.

The Reagent and Masai had a spirited conversation, and when it was over, the Reagent looked at Angie with resolute eyes. "You have shown mercy to these people, Commander. It is the least that we can do to provide for them."

"We will be forever grateful for your kindness," Angie said. "We will provide you with one of our translators, which will be programmed with your language and the languages of all of the alien species that we have encountered."

"We appreciate that, Commander. Our reagents will provide you with landing coordinates."

"Thank you." She turned to Marty. "Get them ready for transport."

"Yes, Admiral."

"Oh, and while you're at it, why don't you see if you can recruit some of them."

"How am I going to know if they're qualified?"

"That's easy. Delphi has all of their records."

"You're kidding?"

"No I'm not. Delphi has records on every living human."

"Wow! That's one hell of a lot of data." He saluted. "Okay, I'll check it out."

"I have a COM request from the X-3001, Angie."

"Open it, Delphi."

"We've found the X-3002, Admiral. It's near the sixth planet and it's not responding. We are currently investigating it."

"Good, keep me informed. When we are done transferring the people, we can go see what's going on."

"Yes, Admiral."

Marty organized a mass transfer of the prisoner aliens to Masai's planet. The local reagents had set up a camp with housing and sources of food on an island near their main continent. The Superior Reagent had elected to isolate these poor souls so that any embedded pathogens would not cause an epidemic.
Marty poured over Delphi's data bank records and isolated anyone who had completed military duty or were scientists. He instructed Moto to select possible candidates from the Drak female prisoners. He left the job of parsing the pseudo humans to Onuki and Ferris. Lia had already programmed a Translator with their languages.

Marty and Onuki decided to confront the new candidates in their new home. He figured that they would be more compliant after they had seen how boring life was going to become on an alien planet on the other side of the galaxy. Marty was surprised how easily they volunteered.

The two humans stood dressed in the minimum. The man wore shorts and the woman was clad in shorts and a halter-top. Marty recognized the man. He was the guy from Boston. Andy Goldman was thirty-seven and had been a combat pilot in the Air Force, just like he had. He also had a PhD in electronic engineering. He looked to be in good shape, and he wore his hair doughnut with pride.

The woman was an enigma. She had copper colored skin and jet-black hair framing a sharp-featured face with high cheekbones. According to Delphi's data, Tiana Bighorse was a thirty-four year old Navajo. She looked tough and her eyes had the steely stare of an experienced soldier. What impressed Marty was that she was a Lieutenant Marine with combat experience.

"We are in dire need of experienced people to help us in our war with the Dragon aliens," Marty said, sounding serious but cracking a slight smile. "We offer you commissions in the Space Command with the pay and benefits of private first class. I'm sure that you will both advance rapidly."

"I'm in," Andy said. "I'm tired of just sitting around waiting on something to happen. I would prefer to be out there making it happen."

Good answer.

The woman hesitated, but her eyes already advertised her acceptance. "I accept."

"Good. You can go with me and Ninja on our search for the X-3001's fighter."

Andy cracked a smile. "What, no training?"

"We don't have time. Besides, you've had plenty of training."

"Who is this Ninja?" Tiana asked.

"He's the fellow that looks like a reptile," Marty said. "He's the finest warrior I've ever known. I'll tell you one thing: he's the guy you definitely want on your side in a firefight."

On the X-4001, Angie was inspecting other candidates. Moto had selected three Drak females and they were standing at attention in the gym. They were naked, but they were not frightened.

"I'll have to defer to your judgment on these individuals," Angie said to Moto. "They look fine to me."

"These three are of a common mind," Moto said. "They wish to serve you."

Angie noted that the three females had larger than normal breasts. Was that a mark of compliance? She toyed with the thought that Marty had something to do with the choices.
"I want you to get them into uniforms, Moto. You'll have to explain to them how to wear clothing."

"Yes, Admiral." Moto ordered the three females to follow her. They did so without saying anything.

Immediately after they left, Ferris marched four pseudo human females into the gym. As were the Drak females, they were naked, but it was obvious that they were not used to this immodest state.

Their bodies were definitely human, but their faces had major differences. For one, they were bald and their eyes were more cat-like. Like Masai's people, they had tiny noses and thin, lipless mouths. Skin color was more in the shade of a beautiful copper color. The lack of any bodily hair made them look even more naked.

"Does anyone know where these people come from?" Angie asked Ferris.

"Not at this time. We believe that it's from a system within a hundred light years of here, but that has not been confirmed."

"What do we know about them?"

"Their anatomy is very similar to ours. There are a few differences, but they're minor. They resemble Masai's race in many ways, but DNA analysis will have to confirm that."

"Were there any males of this species?"

"No. The entire prisoner population was 85% female. The males were in the human contingent."

"That's interesting. I hope it's just a coincidence."

"That's a possibility," Ferris said. "But, we may be looking at a situation similar to what we saw on the Drak planet."

"Well, that will need to be investigated. In the mean time, see that these individuals get uniforms and are instructed in the proper behavior on this vessel."

"Yes, ma'am."

Angie watched Ferris march her recruits off. She had no idea if integrating these new aliens into the service was a good idea or not. All she did know was that she needed warm bodies.

###

Marty waited until the X-402 had cleared the ship by at least two hundred meters before powering up the engines. He turned to look at his two new recruits.

"You won't feel any change in acceleration. We use a system that can create both positive and negative gravity fields. We call it Antigrav."

"I was under the impression that gravity is the result of Einstein's theory of special relativity," Andy said. "And, that it's a distortion of space proportionate to mass."

"Well, I'm not a physicist," Marty said. "All I know is that it reduces our effective mass and that's what allows us to accelerate at very high rates without being smashed into blobs of protoplasm."

"Interesting. I was unaware that they were working on anything like that."

"Angie and I were both surprised by it, and we were there."

"May I ask you something?" Tiana said.

Marty turned to her, noting her deep penetrating eyes staring back at him. "Sure."

"Are these Dragon aliens part of the apocalypse?"

"I often wonder about that myself. Revelations mentions a dragon in chapter 12 and it was poised to devour the issue of the woman about to deliver."

"My people have similar monsters in their mythology."

"Are you the Changing Woman?"

She smiled. "You know something of our culture, I see."

"I have an interest in religious cultures," Marty said. "You never know when it might come in handy." He turned to Ninja. "Are we cleared for departure?"

"Yes, Martin."

"Take us out to the fifth planet, Delphi."

"Yes, Martin."

The main engines fired, and the image of the X-4001 and Masai's planet shrunk rapidly on the main screen.

"Wow!" Andy said. "You weren't kidding about the acceleration rate. How fast are we going?"

"We're already up to 1000 kilometers per second, but we can easily get up to 20% of light speed."

"Can this vessel jump into a singularity?" Andy asked.

"Yes, but we can only jump around 10 parsecs at a time. The main ship can jump unlimited distances."

Andy shook his head. "That's unbelievable."

"Amen to that."

"For awhile there, I thought that I had died and gone to a place like you Christians call Limbo," Andy said. "All of these strange aliens were unnerving."

"Only Catholics believe in Limbo," Marty said. "I think that they abandoned the idea."

"Are there many intelligent aliens out there?" Andy asked, gesturing with his hand.

"More than I ever imagined," Marty said. "George is our planetary astronomer, and he thinks that planet formation around G-class stars is common and that the formation of habitable planets is a given. I think that most of us are convinced that none of this is an accident, that it has to be in God's plan."

"Are the Dragon aliens in God's plan?" Tiana asked.

"As with your beliefs, the gods have made evil spirits to test us, but good will triumph over evil in the end."

No one argued with that precept.

###

"We are leaving orbit, Admiral."

"Good," Angie said. "Good luck."

"Thanks."

Brian's image was replaced with that of Masai's planet. Angie had decided to keep the X-4002 in orbit as a precaution. An attack could come at any time, and she had only two fighters. She sighed. Her last report from Marty had been over two hours ago, although, the distance to the fifth planet would require five hours to receive a message back.

Onuki's image filled the main screen. "Admiral, please come to the Medical Station."

"I'll be there. Honey, take over."

"Yes, ma'am."

When Angie reached the Medical Station, she found Ferris and Onuki standing over a naked pseudo female stretched out on the examination table.

"We have an interesting problem here, ma'am," Ferris said. "This female is pregnant."

"No kidding?"

Ferris pointed to a screen displaying a clear scan of the females pelvic region. "The fetus is clearly visible."

Angie stared at the screen for several seconds. "I thought you told me that there were no males of this species. If this individual is like a human, she can't be more than two months along. How did she get this way?"

"We may be looking at interspecies reproduction," Ferris said. "Despite our experience with Earth animals, we don't know what can happen with these humanoid creatures."

"What are you telling me?" Angie said. "That the father of this baby is a human?"

"We believe so," Ferris said.

"We will identify him," Onuki said. "We have DNA samples from all of the rescued individuals."

Angie smiled. "That should make for a very interesting confrontation."

Ferris and Onuki smiled.

On the X-402, nobody was smiling. The image of the X-407 filled the main screen and it didn't look good. The damaged fighter was lying on a large moon orbiting the fifth planet a million kilometers out. The gas giant was the size of Saturn, but it had no visible ring system.

"The ship has blaster damage, Martin, but I'm not detecting any hull breeches."

"That's good, Ninja. See if you can detect any energy emissions."

"Yes, Martin."

Marty initiated the bio scans. "The moon's atmosphere appears to have some oxygen, but it's too low to breath. We'll have to use the bio suits. I read a temperature around 5 C, cold but not impossible. Atmospheric pressure is around 800 millibars. There's a sizable concentration of methane."

"Okay, people, we're going out."

"You said that we're going to wear bio-suits," Andy said. "Is that anything like a space suit?"

"No. Armored Bio-suits aren't pressurized. They supply oxygen and temperature control. If we come under fire, you'll find them easier to fight in."

After he got his crew suited up and armed, Marty led them out onto the moon's alien surface. The gas giant, encircled by bands of yellow and green clouds, dominated the sky. The atmosphere imparted a yellow tint to the huge planet and the distant sun cast yellow shadows on a craggy gray landscape, pockmarked with craters.

It was obvious that the two new recruits had never seen anything like it.

"Stay alert, people," Marty said. "Death is only a weapon discharge away."

The X-407 sat near the edge of a large crater with its aft section hanging out over a hundred meter drop. There was no sign of activity. Marty approached the hatch to the isolation chamber. He punched buttons on a flush mounted keypad. Surprisingly, the hatch opened.

"Ninja and I will go first. You two stay alert."

Marty entered the chamber and waited for Ninja and the two recruits to do the same. He closed the hatch and began the atmospheric adjustment cycle. The inner hatch opened automatically. Marty played his flashlight around on the unlit interior, but he couldn't see anything of interest. He and his crew advanced down a corridor to the command center. When the door opened, he found two men slumped at the front command section.

Marty used a portable scanner to check out the two men. They were alive, but unconscious. He suspected that the air inside the fighter was not very good. A quick scan confirmed his suspicions.

"We have to get power up on this thing," Marty told Ninja. "The air in here is not very good."

"I'll give you a hand," Andy told Ninja.

While they went off to the back, Marty and Tiana looked for something to resuscitate the two men. Tiana found some oxygen masks, and she put them on the men and started the flow. When some power was restored, Marty and Tiana were able to better evaluate the two men.

"This guy has a blow to his head," Tiana said. "He may have brain damage."

"I think this one is suffering from shock," Marty said. "We'll have to get these two back to the X-4001 as soon as we can. They need professional help."

More power came on. Ninja and Andy came back and reported.

"There were several relays blown," Ninja said. "We should be able to power up in about an hour."

"We need to get these two guys back to the X-4001 as quickly as possible," Marty told them. "Do you think that you could get this ship up and running?"

"We will do it, Martin," Ninja said. "The antimatter is down, but the engines will soon be on line. I'm not sure about the Delphi unit."

"There's a procedure for rebooting it in the manual," Marty said. "It's over there inside the navigational station."

"Yes, Martin."

"Okay. You and Andy work on that. Tiana and I will get these two back to the X-402 and contact the X-4001."

Ninja saluted.

###

Angie watched Marty enter the command deck and take his usual place.

"How are the two men you rescued?"

"Onuki said that they'll recover. They should be able to return to duty."

"Good. Brian is a happy camper that you were able to save his two men and the X-407."

"How about the X-3002?"

"They were just shut down," Angie said. "They had a few injuries, but everybody came through okay."

"That's great news. We could ill afford to lose a ship at this juncture."

Angie sighed. "We're lucky. The X-3002 fought a desperate battle against a Dragon fleet. They're fortunate that this is the worse that happened. The Reagent expressed her gratitude for what they did, but she feels vulnerable. She has offered to transfer more of her people to our service. I've decided to transfer some of our technology to her people. She has pledged a major effort to build starships."

"I concur with your decision. We have an obligation to protect them now. That's what happens when you get involved; however, I'm sure that we'll catch hell for doing it."

"We have no choice. We're alone out here, and we need all the friends we can get. The Drak aliens have promised that they will attack the Dragons on as many fronts that they can. We are recruiting people as fast as we can, but we don't have enough ships to make a difference."

"Maybe we can help Masai's people in their efforts," Marty said. "If we had just a few more ships, we would stand a better chance against these bastards."

Angie set her jaw. "Maybe there are other species out there who could aid us."

"Could be," Marty said. "Could very well be."
You never know.