Chapter 13: Chapter 12

Star People

Chapter 12

What Belongs to Them, Belongs to Us!

Dec 31^st, 11 AE…

New Pearl Harbor…

It was about ten minutes to midnight, and the Mighty Mo was quietly moored at its usual position at the docks. On board the ship, members of the Missouri’s skeleton crew milled about, some in a casual, relaxed manner as they waited for the arrival of the New Year. Near the loading area at the dock, some of the crew members were already celebrating. As the alcohol began to flow, alertness began to drop, allowing four shadowy figures to slip by the normally vigilant guards.

The intruders had secretly entered the Alder continent by stowing away in one of the cargo ships from a small nation in the Merdov continent. Using special bodysuits and masks made from magical cloth, they were able to hide themselves from view by blending in with their surroundings like chameleons. They would also be hidden from low-level detection spells, or in this case, the surveillance and security sensors set on low-level scans. It was just by sheer luck that the security force on the Missouri had been reduced during the holiday season and that no one in Free Land was expecting an attack or infiltration attempt by a hostile nation. The barrier was not on and some areas on the ship were not guarded as much tonight.

 The special infiltration unit of Euracon, the Dreanat, was able to slip past the security team and onto the stern of the Missouri. Their mission was a simple one. Steal as much information, weapons and material as they could from the star battleship and bring it back to their masters. Once they unraveled the secrets to the Star Alliance technology, then the nation of Euracon would rise above all others and take its place as the top superpower.

However, this was not to be as the quartet headed toward one of arsenal storage rooms. Unlike the security team this evening, the surveillance and anti-theft systems guarding the most sensitive areas of the ship were on full alert. Though they were hidden from sight, the would-be thieves were not invisible to the internal thermal and bio-sensors of the Missouri.

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On the bridge of the ship, Lieutenant-Commander Harken enjoyed a cup of tea as the crew counted down toward midnight.

“10… 9… 8… 7… 6… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

As the bridge crew celebrated the beginning of 12 Years After Earth, the Catian third-in-command noticed a blinking light on his chair’s console. He put down his cup and tapped a control on his console. His eyes widened as he saw that the internal sensors had detected 4 unauthorized individuals trying to access one of the arsenal rooms. He immediately stopped festivities and turned on the intruder alert siren as he spoke into the PA system.

“All hands! All hands! Intruder alert! Intruder alert! Security to Arsenal Room Beta immediately!”

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The Dreanat operatives were about to try cutting through the reinforced door of the arsenal with a magic sword, but were foiled in the attempt as the Intruder Siren went off. In almost an instant, a large bubble of energy appeared and surrounded the four, trapping them inside an instant prison cell. As the same time, an energy dampening field was emitted, causing them to become visible again. They immediately drew their swords and knives and took up ready stances. The security team came rushing toward them, taking their weapons off safety. The espionage agents found themselves staring down the barrels of several ACMAG rifles.

“Drop your weapons and hands up!” The lead security officer shouted.

One of the intruders started speaking in an unknown dialect before thrusting out his hand. A large fireball shot forward toward the security team. However, the magical projectile instantly fizzled out when it hit the barrier that surrounded him and his comrades. Magic or psion events were still considered as energy and the barrier was calibrated to neutralize it.

“Magic users.” The lead security officer commented, and then spoke into the communicator on his collar. “Activate containment stun field!”

All four operative screamed as the barrier gave off a brief, but intense shock of energy within it. This caused them to drop to floor unconscious.

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Jan 1^st, 12 AE…

“And that’s what happened.” Harken said as he finished his report on the attempted theft of Star Alliance weapons and equipment.

“Did you get any more information out of the intruders?” Mark asked.

“I’m afraid not, Sir. When the prisoners came about, they immediately took some kind of hidden suicide pills.”

“So they’re all dead? That’s rather unfortunate. Did you find anything on their bodies? Anything that could identify which nation they came from?”

“Most of their equipment was either generic magical weapons or enhanced clothing. We did a genetic scan of their bodies and compared them with the ethnic database that we have compiled on the races of this world. They seem to hail from the Vados continent.”

“Vados? We haven’t made any contact with nations of that part of the world yet.”

“Indeed. We are not scheduled to meet with the Kingdom of Naran for another month or so.”

“You don’t suppose that Naran sent these men as some kind of pre-emptive espionage operation, do you?”

 ‘Not likely, Captain.” The Catian subordinate replied. “We also found this.” He held up a pin, shaped like a serpent with wings, wrapped around a sword.

“What is it?”

“It’s a pin we found on one of the bodies of the intruders. We ran this image through the database of all the flags, emblems and symbols of all the nations on this world. We came up with no matches and it’s definitely not from Naran.”

“So we don’t know which nation sent these men to steal our tech.”

“Maybe this was the work of some overzealous noble? This could just be an isolated incident.”

“I don’t think so. However, this needs to be reported to the Council of Prime Directors.”

“I’ll be sending in my report to them after this call, Captain.”

“Good work, Harken. Delan out.”

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The Empire of Euracon, southwest region of Vados…

In the Royal Palace of Heavens, in the capital city of Vadania, the ruler of the nation, Emperor Xerxal Shilor sat on his throne with an angry expression on his face. He was quite displeased as he heard the report of the failed operation to the Missouri.

 “Imbeciles! We had sent a bunch of imbeciles! We had given them the best magical stealth suits and masks available and they still got caught!”

“Sire, perhaps it was not the fault of the Dreanat operatives, but it was due to the advanced technology of Free Land that had detected them.” Prime Minister Jaxelo Surn suggested.

“All the more reason to obtain such technology! It is ours by divine right!”

“Of course, Sire. However, the ship called the Missouri, was not our only option. We still have more operatives in other locations. Perhaps they will be more successful in obtaining the advanced Free Land weapons and technology that we seek?”

“Perhaps. What I am especially interested in are the Giant Metal Soldiers. Once we have one in our possession, then we will be able to create our own army of Great Iron Warriors and finally be able to conquer Naran and the continent of Vados! And after the great ‘superpower’ falls, then the world shall bow down to Euracon!”

“But what of Free Land? Will they not stand against us?”

“Bah! Once we discover the secret to their technology, then even they will not be able to stop us! The beginning of Euracon’s ascension to the greatest superpower… no, the ONLY superpower and complete domination of the world, shall begin!”

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Jan 17^th, 12 AE…

The Conference Chamber of the Council of Prime Directors…

“I must say that this rash of attempted espionage and attempted theft of our technology is getting quite annoying.” Benjamin said as he read the latest reports.

Since the break-in on the Missouri, the Star Alliance had begun tightening up their security measures around all military installations. That did not stop the Dreanat from trying though. Ten days ago, there was an attempted break-in at a small military outpost in Grevel. The thieves were immediately caught but committed suicide before they could be questioned.

Another attempt at stealing Free Land military hardware, happened six days ago at a small Starfighter base in the territory of Versille, near the northern coastline of the Merdov continent. The agent had disguised herself as a Kyteeri, using an illusion spell, but that proved to be a mistake. The Kyteeri personnel, being sensitive to psion-manipulation, instantly exposed the agent’s deception. This led to the operative committing suicide to avoid interrogation. The base commander could only assume that the intruder had to come to either steal a Byatta fighter or the blueprints to one. That mission would have been doomed to failure since all Starfighters were bio-locked to their pilots to prevent theft. Furthermore, all data in their computer storage files were so heavily-encrypted that the thieves of this world would have no chance of deciphering them, even if they were successful in stealing them.

Possibly the most outrageous attempt was at a Battle-Mech maintenance depot in Garres, two days ago, where an agent actually managed to get into the cockpit of a Hunter. Of course, his attempt to drive off with it was met with failure. Like the Starfighters, all Battle-Mechs were bio-locked to their pilots, making hijacking the machines virtually impossible. As with all other the agents, this one also committed suicide before he could be interrogated.

“Well, I did warn you that something like this might happen when we announced ourselves to this world.” Nasaak pointed out. “There are those who want more power and aren’t too particular on how they get it.”

“Point taken.” Nerto said with a nod. “So far, we’ve blunted all attempts at theft of our military technology, but I have a feeling that these attempts will continue on for quite some time. They are persistent, I’ll give them that. And we still do not know which nation sent them.”

“Actually, we have just discerned the nation that is behind these attempts at espionage and theft.” Viska stated.

“Really?”

“Yes. As you know, my people have opened relations with the so-called Spirit and Fairy Folk of this world. Through their information networks, they are almost 100% certain that these agents are coming from a nation in the Vados continent. They call it, Euracon.”

“You’re… a… con?” Ben asked in confusion.

“Actually, it is pronounced as ‘Euracon’ but judging by the Spirits’ and Fairy Folks’ description of the country and its people, your pronunciation might be more accurate. Its official title is the Heavenly Empire of Euracon, but most of the other nations nicknamed it as the Underhanded Country.”

“That’s very unflattering.” Anida remarked.

“Unflattering but true. They’re known for being a population of thieves, swindlers, con artists, mercenaries and opportunists. They also practice the same kind of expansionist attitude that the Sath formally did, and they will lay claim to any kind of technology, magical power or territory as belonging to Euracon by divine right. For them, ‘what’s theirs is theirs, and what’s ours is also theirs.’ Not exactly a place you’d want to associate with.”

“So these attempts at stealing our military hardware are due to some would-be conqueror with dreams of world domination? That is so cliché.” Benjamin commented.

“Well, it’s not a big stretch of the imagination to understand why they would want our Battle-Mechs, Starfighters, ships and other things.” The Velor Director said. “I mean, we just plowed through a superpower’s armies and navies and brought the Empire of Sath to its knees in just under a week.” He turned toward his Nemonian counterpart. “So what do we know about Euracon?”

“Let me see.” Viska looked down at her console and brought up an image of the country’s location on the main map. “The Heavenly Empire of Euracon is located in the southern region of the continent of Vados. Like the Sath, Euracon has control over many smaller nations or vassal states. Overall, its size is comparable to that of Bisra and Excra combined.”

“And the native population?” Nasaak asked.

“Just about all are human with a few non-humans as slaves. Their government is that of a supreme monarchy and its current ruler is Emperor Xerxal Shilor. Here are some surveillance scans of the region. According to their records, the Eurocon Empire has existed for over 6,000 years. However, the Spirit and Fairy Folk call this as a fantasy as there are no records of Euracon existing further back than 500 years ago. More than likely the tale of their 6,000 year history is just propaganda.”

“Kind of reminds me of the history vids I saw of ancient Asia on Earth.” Ben commented as he saw the various cities and people of Euracon. “By the way, how did you determine that the spies came from this region?”

“The Fairy and Spirit Folk recognized the symbol of the pin that was found on one of the bodies. It belonged to a secret spy ring of Euracon. They call themselves the Dreanat, or Secret Ones. It’s very likely that they were ordered by their emperor to try and steel Free Land military tech to bolster their own armies.”

“Since we don’t have any concrete evidence against them, we can’t really retaliate for their transgressions.” Nasaak pointed out. “If we catch one of those spies before he kills himself, and then interrogate him, we’d have the just cause to fight back.”

“Well then, I suppose the only thing we can do is bide our time.” Anida said.

“Give us more information on Euracon.” Ben asked.

“In terms of military strength, their forces are similar to what we encountered with the Sath, but on a higher scale. They heavily utilize magic and seem to incorporate it into a form of technology.” Viska stated.

“You’re saying they’re like the Nation of Naran?”

“In a way. However, their magical ability is less than that found in Naran and their magic technology is not on the same level either. From the looks of it, most of their magical technology is either reverse-engineered or stolen from other nations. And from what our sensors can tell, their magical technology is low-quality and made from sloppy reverse-engineering. No wonder they want our tech.”

“How about their economy?” Nerto asked.

“Like the Sath again, most of it goes toward their military. The quality of living among the common people is quite low and Euracon merchants aren’t seen as very trustworthy. In their minds, it’s not the fault of the seller for cheating the customer. It’s the fault of the customer for not knowing he was being cheated.”

“That’s certainly a terrible way to do business.” The Kyterri Prime Director commented.

“The currency used there is called the Glive. On today’s market, the Glive is worth about 10 Neublins. As for natural resources and such, they do possess some farmlands and trading ports, but not much else. Again, like the Sath, the Euracons depend on expansion and conquering neighboring countries to feed their armies and fill their coffers. It’s only because of the Naran acting like a buffer that Euracon hasn’t spread out past the Vados continent.”

“And their government and the people themselves?” The Catian Director asked.

“As mentioned before, they are led by a supreme monarchy with an emperor at its head, with several advisors. The current emperor is named Xerxal Shilor. The people have a strong sense of pride in their so-called 6,000 years of history with a bit of a superiority complex. The other nations really do not want to have anything to do with Euracon, as their people are seen as greedy, unscrupulous and dishonest.”

“They can’t all be that bad.” Nerto pointed out.

“The other nations beg to differ.” Viska countered. “Euracon had accused Atlans of stealing their flight technology, when there has been no evidence whatsoever of the biplane being invented in Vados. They accused the Kingdom of Naran of stealing their national treasure, the Sacred Holy Sword, over 600 years ago. Problem with that accusation is that Euracon didn’t exist until 500 years ago. They keep on claiming to have invented things and throwing blame on other nations for stealing those ideas. After our war with the Sath, there’s a rumor going on in Euracon that we stole their Battle-Mech technology.”

“You have to be joking!” The Terran Director exclaimed.

“I’m not. They will accuse anyone and everyone under the Sun for stealing what rightfully belongs to Euracon.”

“Good grief, they remind me of J. Jonah Jameson.”

“Who?” Nasaak asked.

“He’s a character from piece of entertainment media from Earth’s past.” Nerto explained. “I believe they called it a ‘comic book?’ In a title called Spider-Man, Jameson kept on blaming the hero for every crime and disaster that ever happened, even if he had nothing to do with it. It’s quite an amusing read.”

“Getting back to the main issue, we should keep a lookout for more attempts to steal our technology. I doubt Euracon would give up after a few tries.” Benjamin stated.

“Speaking of trying, I have heard that Atlans is about to test out their new fighter, the Warhawk.” The Catian Director said.

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Jan 18^th, 12 AE…

Nation of Atlans, Richlike Airbase…

“Look at her! Isn’t she a beauty?” Lenns said as he watched the new fighter being rolled out on to the runway.

His friend Akar could only nod in reply. After months of trial and error, the engineers had finally built the first P-40 Warhawk in centuries.

Utilizing new fabrication and engineering methods, the all metal, monoplane fighter of World War 2 had been resurrected. It had been modeled after the P-40N series and had three fifty-caliber machine guns mounted in each wing. It was colored silver with some red highlights. It had a replica Allison V-1710-81/99, liquid-cooled V-12 inline engine with a rated power of 1,400 hp at 3,000 rpm. To honor its origins, the front of the plane was painted with the famed Flying Tigers shark mouth.

Parked beside it was Atlans’ present fighter, the Wind Master Mark IV. A minute after the two planes were fueled up, the Wind Master first started up its engine; its two-bladed propeller began to spin rapidly. It moved out down the runway, gradually picking up speed. The double-wings soon gained enough lift and the biplane left the ground and soared into the air.

The P-40 then started its own engine, spinning its tri-bladed propeller. Unlike the biplane, its engine gave off a throatier roar. Then it began down the runway. Since it only had one set of wings, it needed a bit more runway to get enough airspeed to take off. However, when it did take off and retracted its landing gear, all of the observers gasped in awe at the fighter’s rate of climb and speed. It soon caught up to the biplane’s altitude, and then surpassed it. The pilot of the Wind Master could only helplessly watch as the Warhawk sped past and reached an altitude of nearly 25,000 feet.

Inside the cockpit, the pilot of the Warhawk couldn’t believe he was flying this fast and this high. The biplanes he had flown before didn’t even compare to what he was feeling now. He pushed the plane into a tight banking turn and dived down toward his mock adversary, the Wind Master. The pilot of the biplane had just started to make evasive maneuvers, when the P-40 pilot pulled the trigger. Instead of live ammunition, the guns fired off practice paint bullets that splattered across the biplanes fuselage, indicating a fatal blow. The wing-mounted machine guns gave the Warhawk pilot a much wider cone of fire than the two guns mounted at the front of the biplane.

The two aircraft made several sets of maneuvers at each other with the P-40 clearly having the advantage in speed, altitude, dives, rate of climb and firepower. The only advantage the biplane had was in slow turns but the Warhawk pilot easily compensated and dominated the mock battle. After a few more minutes, both pilots received the message to land as the test was over. The biplane’s fuselage and wings were littered with purple paint dots and splatter, indicating direct hits, while the monoplane was completely clean. It was a completely lopsided fight in favor of the P-40.

Atlans now had a new fighter to its arsenal and it was the Warhawk.

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Jan 19^th, 12 AE…

The Heavenly Palace of Euracon…

“I will not tolerate any more failures!” The emperor growled.

“I must apologize, your Highness.” His prime minister said as he prostrated in front of the throne. “It seems that we had greatly underestimated Free Land’s security measures. Perhaps, we should not make any more attempts to steal…”

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“ABSOLUTELY NOT! I WILL HAVE THEIR TECHNOLOGY!” Xerxal Shilor roared as he stood up.

“Yes, yes, yes, of course your majesty!” Jaxelo Surn groveled as he stood up while bowing frequently. “However, it will take time for us to bypass their defenses. We have to study them more and learn their weaknesses.”

“Hmph! If the direct approach is not going to work, then why not try more subtle means? Everyone has their price. Perhaps we could entice one of their pilots to give up his or her machine? Or we could capture one of their officers and force him or her to give up certain secrets to the Free Land technology?”

“Those are more feasible options. Our spies have told us that several officers and pilots of the Free Land military are taking their vacations and shore leaves in several former vassal states of the Empire of Sath. Perhaps we can gain the knowledge and technology of Free Land from one of them? In fact, two Metal Soldier pilots have been identified in Grevel. Perhaps we can start with them?”

“Yes, I think that may be our ticket to gaining the power to dominate the world!”

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Feb 4^th, 12 AE…

The streets of Grevel…

“Hey, did you hear? Captain Delan of the Missouri and his First Officer just had a brand new little girl.” Commander Jerry Vandelin remarked as he and his Catian subordinate leisurely strolled through the port city. Both were in their civilian attire and were currently on leave from the 472^nd Battle-Mech Division for two weeks. To any outsider, they looked like human and beastkin tourists. Jerry had short, brown hair and was around 6’2” while Gracs had reddish-brown fur and sported a tail.

“Yes, I heard.” Lieutenant Gracs replied. “I saw holo-images of their new baby on their Fam-Page. She was a cute little Kyteeri. I believe they named her Rebecca.”

“It makes me kind of jealous and I started wondering if I should settle down myself.”

“So you’re thinking about finally asking Corporal Vasanov out?”

“How did you know about her?”

“I saw how you stuttered when she gave you that report before we left the base.”

“It was that obvious?”

“Too obvious. I can tell she’s got an attraction toward you. That new perfume she was wearing was definitely with the intention of getting you to notice her.”

“How did you know she was wearing new perfume?”

The Catian tapped the side of his nose. “Remember, we Catians have far better noses than Terrans.”

“Right.”

 “Actually, it’s not a bad idea for me to consider settling down myself. My mother sent me another series of holo-messages, with her not-so-subtle hints for me to choose a mate and give her some grand-cubs to spoil.”

The two chuckled as they headed away from the docks and toward the busier section of the city. There they saw a particular business that had been booming ever since it was introduced three months ago. It was a feasible and very affordable alternative to the Instant Ration Packets. It was also one of the few businesses that had survived the destruction of Earth. In fact, several chain stores had been appearing in nearly all the nations of the Merdov continent with plans to expand in Bisra and Excra.

The giant glowing, double-arch sign high above the restaurant said it all.

“You know, I never would have thought I would ever see a McDonald’s on another planet.” Jerry remarked. “They’re really doing great here. Every day, I see this place packed at breakfast, lunch and especially dinner.”

Gracs shrugged. “Well, I can’t blame them for liking it so much. It’s hard to resist two neo-beef patties, special sauce…”

“… lettuce, cheese…”

“… pickles, onions…”

“… on a sesame seed bun.” Both officers said at the same time before bursting out in laughter.

“Man! That Big Mac song never grows old! Speaking of which, it’s almost lunch and I could go for a Big Mac right about now.”

“Your treat, Sir?”

“I told you before. You can drop the rank thing when we’re out of uniform and out of our Battle-Mechs. It’s not Commander and Lieutenant. It’s just Jerry and Gracs right now, okay?”

 “You got it. One Big Mac for you and a Quarter-Pounder for me.”

As the two began heading toward the restaurant, two shadowy figures spoke to each other from a nearby alleyway.

“Did you hear that? Those are the Free Land officers and pilots of the Giant Soldiers.”

“Excellent! We’ll wait until after they have their meal, and then we shall strike!”

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Forty minutes later…

BURP!

“Oh yeah, that hit the spot!” Jerry casually stretched out his arms as he and his friend exited the establishment.

“Yes, that was enjoyable.”Gracs agreed as he took a sip from the medium cola drink in his hand. “By the way, you do know we’re being followed right?”

The Battle-Mech Squad Leader nodded. “Oh yeah, I noticed we were being watched ever since we went inside. Two hooded guys hiding in the alley on the south side of the McDonald’s right?”

 “Yes, and it looks like they brought a few friends.” Gracs sniffed the air a bit as his Catian senses of sight, hearing and especially smell, were better than a human’s or Terran’s. “I count seven of them. Do you think they might be part of the Dreanat that the upper brass warned everyone about?”

“I’d say it was pretty likely. The rate in which they were trying to steal our tech has dropped and the higher-ups figured that they might start trying to target officers and enlisted members. Things like kidnapping, torture, bribery, blackmail and other stuff are expected.”

“So what are we going to do about those seven who are trying to entrap us?”

“Well, General Kurdo and Prime Director Nasaak did say they only needed one of those Dreanat guys alive. So we got a one in seven chance that we can bring in one still breathing. Try to hold back as much as you can, okay? Do what you can to keep them from committing suicide.”

 “I’ll try, but I can’t make any promises. Those poor fools are about to learn that we’re just as dangerous outside of our Battle-Mechs as we are inside them.”

The two decided to deliberately give their followers an opportunity to attack them, by walking toward a deserted side road. Gracs finished his drink and dropped the cup into a nearby trash dumpster. Almost on cue, the two hooded figures and their accomplices appeared from various hidden spots to surround them.

“You will come with us or die!” One of them hissed as they all pulled out bladed weapons. Several of swords had the Dreanat symbol engraved on their cross-guards. There was no doubt as to who the Mech-pilots were facing.

This must be what Captain Delan felt when he first came to Grevel. Jerry thought as he and his compatriot took defensive stances.

“You will tell us everything about the Giant Soldiers!” Another assailant demanded.

The Terran shrugged his shoulder and addressed his Catian partner. “You want to say it or should I?”

“Go ahead.” Gracs said nonchalantly.

Jerry nodded as he gave his answer to the Dreanat. “UP YOURS!”

He immediately tossed out a small object from a hidden pocket in his jacket. It was a miniature, flash-grenade which exploded in burst of binding light. Both officers were already prepared and had closed their eyes the instant it detonated, while the Dreanat were not as fortunate. All screamed in pain and some dropped their weapons.

With their attackers temporarily blinded, Jerry and Gracs quickly pressed their advantage.

WHAM!

A right cross from Jerry broke a Dreanat’s jaw as well as knocking him out when he hit the pavement, skidding more than two dozen feet. A Terran’s physical strength was not to be underestimated.

WHOMP!

A kick from Gracs sent another Dreanat sprawling back a dozen feet. Scrambling back onto his feet, he decided to flee the scene.

CRACK!

“AAAAGGGGHHH!”

One of the would-be kidnappers gets two broken ribs and fell to his knees. Not wanting to be taken alive, he quickly swallowed a suicide pill and died instantly.

THUMP!

Using a simple judo throw, Gracs tossed another of their attackers over his shoulder. The man went crashing headfirst into the trash dumpster. As his head popped out from all the rubbish, Gracs ran up and slammed the lid on top of him, knocking him out and preventing him from killing himself.

WHACK!

Jerry broke the nose of a Dreanat spy with a brutal backhand, causing the agent to drop to the ground on his side. Before he could take the suicide pill hidden in his sleeve, he let off a scream as Jerry’s foot came down and stomped on the Dreanat’s arm, breaking bone and forcing him to drop the pill. The Mech pilot kicked it away while shaking his head.

“Oh no, you don’t get to die on me today!”

He then bent down and gave the spy another punch to the head, knocking him out.

Even though they were armed with swords, after regaining their sight and seeing their comrades being easily dispatched, the remaining two Dreanat agents were not willing to continue with their mission and decided to flee, tossing out a smoke grenade to hide their escape.

Looking about, the two Mech-Pilots looked over handiwork. Out of seven assailants, one was dead while three were knocked out. The remaining three had escaped.

“Three out of seven isn’t bad, I guess.” Jerry commented as he began examining the unconscious men to make certain they didn’t have any hidden weapons or any other way they could commit suicide.

“In retrospect we really should have pulled out our blasters.” Gracs commented after revealing the hidden holster and weapon under his jacket. He was in the process of pulling out the unconscious agent from the garbage dumpster. His nose wrinkled a bit from the stench.

“We couldn’t risk it. We had to make it look like we were unarmed, or they wouldn’t have tried to attack us. Besides, I didn’t want any innocent bystanders getting hit by stray shots. Only pull out your weapon when you have to. I’ll tie these guys up while you contact HQ for a pickup.” Jerry took out several strips of wrist-restraints that worked as handcuffs when applied. Despite their fragile appearance, they were actually stronger than bands of steel.

“You got it, Commander.” Gracs replied as he pulled out a small communicator device.

“I told you to call me Jerry when we’re out of uniform.”

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Several hours later, in the Council of Prime Directors Conference Chamber…

“I must say, I am very impressed that we were able to obtain not one, but three live agents of the Dreanat.” Nerto commented. “Both Commander Vandelin and Lieutenant Gracs deserve a commendation for their efforts.”

“I only wish they were in better condition. One has a broken jaw; the other has a smashed nose and broken arm, and the third has a big lump on his head and stinks.” Anida remarked.

“You were expecting them to be in pristine condition?” Viska asked.

“They were brought in alive, so we could interrogate them.” Nasaak pointed out. “And it’s not like those Dreanat agents were going to come quietly.”

“He’s right. The Dreanat threatened our officers and they had every right to defend themselves.” Ben stated. “In any case, the Medical Bay already took care of any life-threatening injuries, and once the interrogation is over, then they will receive proper medical treatment.”

At that moment, a side door opened and an aide walked in and handed Ben a datapad. After the aide left, the Terran Prime Director began reading the results on the datapad.

“The agents proved to be quite susceptible to truth serums. The interrogation only confirmed what we had already suspected. The Empire of Euracon is behind the attempts to steal our military hardware, with special focus on the Battle-Mechs. Not only that, but there were other plans to kidnap, assassinate and bribe various officers and personnel. All of these plans were sanctioned by the emperor himself.”

 “Well, now that we have our justification, how shall we proceed in punishing the emperor for his transgressions?” The Catian Prime Director asked.

Before anyone could reply, an alarm suddenly went off.

“What the Hell?!” Nasaak exclaimed.

“That’s the Omega Alarm!” Ben announced.

“This means that there’s a threat of planet-level proportions!” Anida stated. “We’re receiving an emergency transmission from the Deep Space Observation Station. On screen now!”

 The entire Council to become glued to the main holo-monitor as it displayed an image of an officer from the Deep Space Observatory Station. The station was located just at the edge of this world’s solar system. Since the message was being transmitted by the emergency tachyon-frequency, the Council knew that it was a crisis of the utmost importance.

“Commander Strikus? What is going on?” Ben asked.

“Council of Prime Directors. I have grave news to report. It seems that a certain object from our war with the Cryterians has followed us to our new home.”

“What do you mean, Commander?”

“Approximately one minute ago, our long-range scanners picked up this object as it dropped out of hyperspace, just inside of the solar system’s perimeter.”

The holo-viewer then displayed a large, crystalline object, about the size of a Vanguard-class destroyer. It was generally cylindrical in shape. All the Directors gasped as they recognized it.

“That’s… not what I think it is… is it?” Viska gulped.

“There’s no mistake.” Nasaak confirmed. “That’s a Cryterian Planet Ravager! Damn it! I thought we destroyed all of them!”

“How did that thing get here?” Anida asked. “Where did it come from?”

“It’s very likely this one was part of the swarm that had been scattered about this sector of the galaxy during the final phase of our war with the Cryterians.” Nerto surmised. “I would assume it detected our ion trails and followed our path through hyperspace to this system.”

“Is there any chance that we can destroy it before it reaches this planet?” Ben asked.

Just as he spoke, the image of Planet Ravager shimmered, and then it vanished from sight.

“Too late! That thing’s sensors must have detected the huge amount of organic life on this world and it engaged its cloaking device.” The Catian Director growled. “We won’t be able to detect it until it makes planet fall!”

“How long will it take for that thing to reach this world?” Ben asked with a stern expression.

“At full impulse speeds, about 24 hours at the very least.” Strikus replied.

The Terran Director nodded as he stood up.

“Issue a full recall of all personnel! All leaves are to be put on hold! It seems that dealing with Euracon and the emperor will have to wait. If we do not act, then our new home will suffer the same fate as the Earth and all the other worlds the Cryterians destroyed!”

To be continued…

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