Exile Continued:

[Sabrina Bergin]

For those who been have reading the story so for the this continues where I left off In Exile page three:

For those who are fresh to this story and want to start at the beginning please look for "Exile" which has the three previous pages.

Sorry for any inconvenience.
( PS: I am back editing trying to sort out my shoddy grammer by the way)

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Continued:

I felt the missiles launch as we reached what would be our best speed given the damage we had received. I waited till we were as far away as we were going to get from the Xenon ships then swung her away from the gate trying to buy us more time. The jump drive was powered up and waiting and I had the switch that would initiate the jump sequence unlocked.

Once that started we would come to a dead stop it was hard wired in and nothing could change it.
Stick at the helm began counting of the minutes as I made a series of feints but the Xenon were not buying it today we would have to play with the cards we had been dealt I just hoped we had a good hand.
Their was a sudden drop in noise and vibration levels as the last of our missiles left our tubes.

I shut down the tactical display and switched to the external view our last missile still up on the monitor as it headed for it's target and the Q that was growing inexorably larger.
I looked to stick but he just shook his head then the Q shuddered as a series of nukes caught it was firing at us with its mains now and it outreached us I waited as Stick did his best to avoid the stream of fire coming at us but the hits started coming in. Roll her I ordered watching the shields start to plummet.

I felt the impacts hit us hard we lost way again as the impacts grew heavier and faster. then the screen flared out in a blinding flash as the Q exploded.

There was increasing silence as the drives finished powering down I looked to the Jump drive switch wondering if it would still work when the static white noise cleared and I heard Onamu warning us not to attempt to jump.

"Loki This is Praetorian do not attempt to jump lock it down Loki you have one hell of a whole in the side of your ship if you jump she will break apart".

I took the key out of the safety disengaging the system and waited.

[Sabrina Bergin]

Carl sat back staggered as the com link was cut and he snapped at Robby to ignore the safeties and head for the gate. The captain of the split freighter called him asking why he was breaking regulations.

"Captain our escort intends to turn and face the enemy to give us time to get our cargo to its destination, the longer we remain here the greater the chances are he will fail in his task".

The Split considered this for a moment and ordered all the other ships in the convoy to make best speed for the gate advising that more Xenon were inbound.

"His fighters match our course should he not recall them ?" asked the Split

"He cannot Captain he has placed our safety above that of his own and ordered them to ward us no matter the cost" Carl replied wishing the gate would grower larger in his monitors faster than it was doing.

"The Captain of that Vessel then is Split who else would choose such an end I will honour his courage" the Split Captain announced drawing his ship up to run alongside the Venture.

They traversed the gate at reckless speed and Carl ordered the mains to full power to clear the gate checking his monitors to gauge when they were at a safe distance.
"Lil get me a feed from that satellite the Shrike dropped put it on the right screen and record it".

Lil looked at him as if to object but something in his voice reached her and they all watched as events unfolded getting voice comm's from the ships within reach of the satellite.

Carl cursed out loud at the stupidity of the Boron Captain who was being pressured by its escort to get through the gate.
The other escort fighters were starting to appear in system taking up protective positions around the convoy but not broadcasting even amongst themselves.

The stupid Boron finally came through with its escort in close pursuit who was ordering the Boron to move or to take serious hull damage.
Carl sensed the woman would quite happily have blasted the Boron to pieces at that point but once she and the Boron were clear her fellow fighters dropped back to her position after which they then moved to a position high above the gate ready to deal with anything that came through.

In system escorts were streaming towards them but Carl ignored them letting Glisa take the helm as he watched the Shrike make a run for the gate from the other sector.

"Oh for Gunnes sake" he whispered as he saw the Q and its escort move in on the damaged ship "jump man jump" he pleaded aloud oblivious now to everything else around him but that screen.

"They are waiting for the Boron to reach safe distance from the gate they have no way of knowing the gate is clear by the time we signalled them it would be to late" Glisa said aloud sensing his anguish but not understanding it.

Carl acknowledged her words with a nod but could not tear his eyes away from the screen as the Carrier began to take heavy damage it managed to destroy the P and inflict heavy damage on the Q but not enough to slow its advance then every thing happened too quickly for him to register it the Shrike rolled to take damage in the already battered area of its hull then there was a brief flash of light followed by a blinding explosion that overloaded the screen.

He ignored the tears streaming down his cheeks as he felt Glisa take his hand to give him what comfort she could then miraculously the screen cleared and the Shrike was still there beat to hell and back but still broadcasting .

A smaller ship a Centurion had taken position to one side as if inspecting the damage which was substantial and heard the stern warning the smaller ship transmitted to the Shrike.

"Lil get my mother on line I don't care what time it is or what it costs wake her and get her on line now use the transponder code we were given to call for help as a reference then put it through to my office".

Glisa signalled for Mathew to take the helm and followed Carl into his office as he called it where the monitor powered up as the wave feed was directed through.

"Lil he called through the still open door attach the recordings we have of that battle then send the live feed alongside the link".

"We have a two minute window Lil" called from the bridge.

"Carl what a pleasant surprise I was going to send you a message later his mother said putting down the folder she had been studying".

"Mom its him watch the side stream and get a feed to this satellite his ship is crippled mom and he needs our help but I can't, watch the vid mom he begged as the link failed.

Claris was annoyed she had given clear orders that any links to Carl were to be accepted without delay.
"Calton she ordered" over the intercom "I want that wave link re-established now in the interim I want the satellite feed we have been given on my screens in a Sizura is that understood ?".

"Ma'am the link is being established and I am sending you a decrypted data burst marked as from the same source. Unfortunately communication channels have been blocked by the family Zyarth's military".

"Then get me the Split ambassador for that family online and let him know I want to speak to him in person sooner rather than later" Claris ordered turning her attention to her main monitor".

She was as shocked and fearful as Carl must have been watching this as it had happened. It was his ship of course of that there was no doubt but it was in peril in one of the worst places in the verse to be as she watched the now live feed she ordered her mercenary support ships to get there at best possible speed and to join the string of fighters that had assumed defensive positions about their stricken carrier.

A Chokaro was close to the Carrier and she assumed it was acting as a staging vessel to get the crew of the ship and to safety.
He wouldn't leave she knew he had his fathers pride and insane courage.
Time to call in a few favours.

She ordered Calton to make the Calls and was rewarded within a few Mizura by the Image of Admiral Drevis commander of the fleet in Argon prime.

"Admiral good of you to respond so quickly I want to cash in the favour you owe me for the Split fire incident and to offer an incentive that will aid the war effort both for the fleet and for corporations like ourselves, I take it you have seen the footage I have received and please do not bother insulting me by denying that you have.
Suffice to say I want that ship towed to the nearest shipyard only the fleet has the resources necessary available or I would be doing this myself".

"You ask a lot to divert a recovery Squadron away from the lines to what end Claris ? we are aware of Captain Hallard of course and he has served us well on many occasions taking on duties where he could have earned more money elsewhere than he did with us. I need more to go on Claris if I am to sanction this, what are you offering and why is this so important to you ?".

"That I am not to liberty to discuss as yet Drevis rest assured though the benefits to the fleet and to the Argon war effort as a whole are unparalleled.

I will also give a prime time interview with Mylene Haldon to endorse the fleets decision to act in this matter not just as portraying Captain Hallard as an Argon patriot, but also as a man who is attempting to make a difference serving the Argon people to the best of his abilities despite not being a regular. I understand he is already being considered as a hero to the Family Zyarth".

Drevis could see Claris wanted this badly and to be honest she had played straight over the Split fire incident. She was also a decorated veteran and was more reasonable than most corporation heads than others were when it came to request a from the fleet. They had he admitted over the years shared common goals and unlike some she had never reneged on a deal she had shook hands on. He made a decision based on that trust and by the one thing he thought he would never see though she hid it well her desperation.

"Okay Claris I will make this happen I assume you already have the family Zyarth briefed and willing to let us do it or you would never have come to me with this so you justify it for me or I will be asking you for a job sooner rather than later Drevis out".

Claris felt her heart beat faster as she ordered her transport and a squadron of fighters to make ready to escort her before she contacted Mylene who was speaking live on some talk show when Claris whispered in her ear.

"Mylene this is Claris I have something that will put you so far ahead of your rivals you would regret turning it down finish that interview and get yourself and your team to the docks my yacht you have the chance to get your name down in history".

Mylene was a pro I gave her that as she made the man bring the interview to an end forcing him to cut to a commercial break.

She was waiting on the dock complete with her team and a sizable amount of baggage which I was pleased to see was already being stowed.
She made her way towards my Iguana but Calton called her back and directed her to follow me and my guards to a different bay.

"This is for a slightly longer journey than last time Mylene give me a few Mizura to get settled then Calton will direct you to me for a briefing" I told her leaving the stewards to take care of the details.

[Sabrina Bergin]

Vincent was numb as every thing seemed to slow down the Xenon were gone and Onamu was badgering him over the com.

"Status" he snapped regretting that but it was ignored by the bridge crew whose screens were slowly coming back to life.

"I need damage reports" I continued wondering at the fact we were still alive.

"Captain we have incoming signals the Guard is taking position above us Onamu is feeding us a live feed of the damage which seems to be centred on deck five.
Our Chokaro is now in system and is waiting to transport the crew aboard from the outer hull areas" Hannah continued.

"Okay get Deklar on the Chokaru and tell him to get the most seriously injured out of here. Any numbers on our casualties ?" I managed to ask.

"Not as bad as it could have been captain the dead were on level five when we took that first hit but most of the crew managed to reach hard points despite pressure loss on decks four and three the medical bay is swamped
with the injured the marines are bringing to them".

Good enough I decided watching the tactical display Sandi and the guards were on watch as was Onamu but too many of our screens were dark.
I had a damned good bridge crew I realised as they began to realise the situation for ourselves.
With the major power systems out we were stuck here the shielding and bulkheads hat had been our last line of defence now prevented us from being able to be transported aboard the Chokaru.

We could participate in the rescue operation vicariously at best giving Deklar live data on where our crew were stranded across all decks.

Unfortunately with the main systems out we were operating on very limited life support so I ordered every one to don the hard suits in the lockers we would save the suits two hour reserves till the last before we sealed up but given the pace of the team the chief had working to get to us I doubted it would be enough.

"Captain the emergency pod can we access it" Stick asked after donning his suit.

"We can but to what purpose Stick there is no way we could attempt to launch it".

"Not launch it captain but it has separate environment scrubbers right I mean It will buy us a fair amount of time" he offered.

Stick was right and I cursed myself for not thinking of it myself he and Mal opened the hatch and bought the pods life support systems online and the effect was startling as the Co levels started to drop back to safe limits.

Shortly after that we became mere onlookers as the bridges primary power feeds started to go down.

[Sabrina Bergin]

Claris stood on the bridge of the Hyperion looking down on the growing number of ships that were taking position around the Shrike.

The Argon fleet recovery squadron was even now taking up position around the stricken Carrier their support craft providing a sizable deterrent to any further attack.
She listened to the com traffic getting a picture of the men and women her son commanded.
The crazy engineer who was still wrestling to bring the ships primary systems online with the help of the hanger deck chief who had twice refused rescue.
The joke was they were doing it through sheer effort of will if nothing else the crippled ship was already starting to come back to life.
Swarms of marines were carrying out emergency repairs to make it possible for the ship to survive a gate transit.
Only the Bridge stayed dark now and it was a race against time Calton had been advised that the bridge crew had at most twenty four hours before the rescue attempts would be pointless.
The Split had intervened at that point and insisted that the ship that had stood it's ground for the family Zyarth be recovered.
The fleet recovery vehicles moved in to take the Shrike in tow when they were satisfied the ship could survive a transit and began moving for the gate the escort fighters sweeping far and wide to make sure nothing interfered with that process.

Time for the interview she decided knowing that she had made promises to get here that she needed to fulfil.

Mylene had not liked the briefing but she was in a place where her ambition had persuaded her to Let Claris run with it that and the size of the Argon task force that had arrived in system just yesterday had galvanized her, this would be a bad time to make an enemy of the fleet or of Claris Sladon so she allowed the woman to make her interview or rather broadcast, knowing she had the exclusive rights to this with the fleet backing her for Gunne's sake.

Claris composed herself in front of the tri vid cameras and Mylene had to admit the woman had a gift.

"People of Argon" she began simply "I am at this moment far to the east of Argon space a long way from the war zones that we all recognise all to well from our daily news cast's. Thank you Mylene for giving me this opportunity to speak of the unrecognised courage of those who whilst they do not participate in the war directly are striving to make a difference.

"Mrs Seldon" Mylene said following the script "you are thousands of light years from home why are you here ?".

A good question Mylene and one I hope the answer to will become self evident to those who see it. This is actual footage of the battle that took place here in Zyarth's Dominion as a Mercenary captain and his crew fought to make that difference not for pay alone but to lend support to an ally of the Argon.
The screens rolled as the edited version of the conflict were cut into the live feed.

"That was certainly dramatic Claris" Mylene continued "but what do you see as being the message to the Argon as a whole here ?" after that she closed down her mike and Claris began speaking again.

"This man Captain Hallard who is an Argon patriot offered his services to assist in helping the family Zyarth to contribute to the war effort, He did this for a fee yes but you have seen the depths of his resolve.
Above all else he chose to risk his life and those of his crew to complete his mission one of vital import to the aid the war effort.
Even now he is with members of his crew trapped in the wreckage of his ship and I thank Gunne that the fleet have chosen. to intervene to give this man and his people a chance to survive this and Gunne willing to give what they can to aid the Argon cause in the future.

I have as you know lost a son to this war but I tell you clearly this man and his crew have won my respect and admiration. My message is simple you do not have to be fleet to make a difference you just have to make a choice as this man and his crew did even here at the edge of known space ".

Mylene was stunned as Claris left her to continue the report alone but she put it together on the fly switching to the external feeds to augment her words as she described the heroic efforts of the fleet and of Captain Hallard's own people as they began the long journey to the shipyard in Zyarths stand.

Mylene managed a quick break for herself before she was waved by Gannel himself the man who for all intents and purposes owned Argons media networks informing her the report was drawing in millions no trilllion's of hits across the verse and that he was broadcasting every Sizura as it came in live.

[Sabrina Bergin]

Vincent watched helplessly as one by one the systems went down the emergency lights came on as the last of the main systems failed.

It would get cold in here fairly quickly he knew and left his seat to go back to the small office abaft at the rear of the bridge. He returned with a bottle of whisky and some MRE packs which he passed around.
"Eat them before they free freeze people we have a long wait ahead of us".

I entered the access to the escape pod and began disarming the launch sequence systems and flight controls as a last resort we could survive in here.

I returned to the bridge where the crew had gathered together at the rear where the observation seats were located.

"Just making sure the damn thing wouldn't launch I said glancing to the pod" I had just left.
"Now we wait Onamu and Deklar will get us out we just have to be patient.

"We haven't got a lot of choice about that Captain what are our chances I mean we are pretty well stranded and if the Xenon come back we have no weapons or shields that we know of" mal said.

It was a good question and one I could only guess at the answer to "the Xenon were after the convoy and we stopped that, so the idea of them sending another task force here is unlikely given the loss's they suffered.
the xenon are nothing if not predictable so that is not a cause for concern our major issue is going to be to stay alive until the rescue teams reach us.
Last resort we seal the suits".

No one said anything after that so I took a seat with them and waited.

Vincent was unsure how much time had passed when something woke him he looked to the others wondering why it was so hard to think straight.
The air was going bad he realised the pod systems had started to fail he moved slowly to his crew and sealed their suits. He could hear noise's someone was headed there way that was what had woken him he realised as he sealed his own suit switching on the external mike's.
That and they were moving he was not sure at first but he felt it the whole ship was moving Onamu must have us on a tractor beam. Where the hell she had managed to get one of those he had no idea but it was the only answer he could think of either that or the chief down in engineering had got the drives back on line. As if to confirm that idea the main lights came back on and some of the systems began to come on line no helm control or external view displays he realised but it was something a message to them that help was on its way.

He helped the others as they came to only Stick remained disoriented so he helped him to his seat.
The others followed his lead and took their places they were powerless to do anything but it gave them a place to be.
Vincent took his own seat knowing that now came the hard part knowing help was on its way but not how long it would take to reach them or if it would reach them in time.

Sandi docked at the Chokaru as Hallon cleared a docking bay to let her take a break she left the Python to the deck crew and headed for the showers and then the galley.

Deklar was there waiting for her when she sat down with her meal. "Any news from the ship" she asked forcing herself to eat the meal she had selected but not really tasting it.

"Saul and Gus have got the main power back on line but they are leaving the engines of line we are going to let the fleet bring her in it will be quicker than if they tried to do it under their own power. At the moment they are cutting their way through to the bridge to get some air in and a probe in there.
Sandi there is a price tag for all of this he indicated the Fleet ships they could see in the view screen that were guiding the Dominator to the shipyard the Fleet has poured millions of credits into this operation why I don't know but they are asking for some payback".

"Specifically" she asked.

"They want you the commander of the guard to give an Interview with the media reporter who is covering the rescue she has agreed to your anonymity being preserved but she wants that interview and so do the Fleet. I know that raises problems Sandi but I think we have to agree".

"I assume you already have this setup Deklar okay but I do not want my face being broadcast all over the verse".

"That's a shame you have such a pretty face Sandi but it's okay you will be in the briefing room for the Interview and we control the feeds from there.
We will also be disguising your voice so no one can get an id on you that way okay"?.

"Okay just give me a chance for a quick nap I am shattered Deklar".

Sandi left to find a rack and Deklar felt bad about putting it to her like that but what choice did he have the media were all over them and they would keep digging for an angle unless they put it out on the record leaving so he hoped no reason to look deeper.

Mylene was ecstatic as she waited in the studio for the live feed from the Praetorians support ship she had a one time interview with the lead fighter of the notorious Guard wing that had helped withstand a full scale Xenon attack on the Split convoy.

She had wanted to meet the woman in person but the Praetorian had vetoed that stressing the need for anonymity in their line of work.
She had caught that early on and done some research and found that unlike most mercenary groups this one was pretty much respected by all the major races and corporations and to date she had found nothing to tarnish their reputation.

The link came up and her technicians adjusted the feeds to make it appear that she was sat in the same room opposite the pilot call sign Python.

"Thank you for taking the time to speak to me Mylene began, as you must be aware there has been an intense amount of interest in what occurred here over the last few mizura as a pilot can you run through the operation form your point of view".

From the beginning then Sandi thought and began speaking clearly giving a step by step account of their mission trying to be as accurate as possible almost like a mission debrief report.

Mylene interrupted her only once "You are saying that Captain Hallard ordered you to protect the convoy despite the risk to his own ship and crew, How did you feel about that ?".

"I was pretty angry ma'am but he's the skipper and he made the call our job was to protect that convoy and that is what we did despite our own wish's".

The woman was upset clearly Hallard the skipper as she called him was a close friend which made the next question she had to ask all the more difficult.

"Python thank you for your candour I have to ask is there any news regarding the ongoing rescue attempt to reach Captain Hallard and the bridge crew of the Dominator ?".

"Well ma'am thanks to the help of the Fleet for which we are deeply grateful our carrier is now in safe space and with their help we are restoring the ships systems and making a start on the repairs, as to Captain Hallard and his bridge crew we have our best people on it ma'am" Python replied her eyes inadvertently glancing to the view screen where the Dominator was bathed in light by support vessels and the repair crews swarming over the hull.

Mylene glanced down at the monitor in her lap pleased to see that Del had picked up the cue and was showing the external feeds of the Carrier.
She gave Python a moment to gather herself giving her time to reply to the last question which is where she decided she would end the interview.

"Captain Hallard is a fighter ma'am and he has never failed a contract or a promise he's kind of old school about that kind of thing and he may be trapped for the moment but I can promise you he is doing his best for his people. We wil have access to the bridge over the course of the next few hours and we will keep you informed as to our progress".

Mylene signalled for the feed from the Chokaro to be faded out and turned to face the camera directly.

"Well there we have it directly from the Leader of the Guard herself who despite her own pressing concerns has taken the time to speak to us regarding the ongoing situation here I am Mylene Haldon of Argon Prime news speaking to you live from Zyarth's stand.

Deklar cut the link and looked at Sandi who was still haunted by that last question.
"We will get them out Sandi I promise" He said grabbing hold of her and giving her what comfort he could"

[Sabrina Bergin]

There was a shower of sparks coming past me I realised fighting the urge to sleep, I unclipped my restraints and got up and turned to see the drill head slide back through the hole it had cut.

They had made it I realised which meant air I cracked the seal on my helmet smelling the blast of fresh air that was coming through that hole and turned to the others cracking their visor seals so they could use the oxygen that was being pumped into us.

They came too slowly gasping as they realised they could breath clean air I took my seat again and tried to get some sort of link and was rewarded with a plain text message that said simply air is good now media will be watching so remain suited up Onamu.

That said it all I switched to suit coms and spoke to all of them "head's up people rescue is imminent but for the sake of the cameras that are about to descend on us I ask you to keep your visors down but switch to external air feeds. stay at your posts and make it look good but remember anonymity is the keyword here".

"You've got that right Skipper" Mal whispered "last thing we need is for our faces to be all over the newscast where some pirate or bounty hunter scum can get our id's".

"This is how it will be I know we can't actually do any thing but I want you to look at what information we have coming to our screens and I want it to look like we are trying to direct operations ".

Mylene Looked the camera straight on from the balcony of the ship yard where the Dominator was being slowly guided into the dock.
"Breaking news" she announced as Del indicated the feed was live.
"The crew of the crippled carrier the Dominator are about to access the bridge of that ship where Captain Hallard and his crew have been trapped since the battle in Zyarth's Dominion it is a tense time no one knows even now what they will find did the Captain and his crew perish we are about to find out".

Mylene stepped to one side as the camera feed was switched to that of the probe that was being sent into the Bridge "We can only wonder if Captain Hallard and his crew have managed to survive we have been told that we should prepare ourselves for the worst the life support systems failed a long time ago before the recovery mission truly began and it has been a long slow journey for the Dominator to the shipyard here still being guarded by her fighters led by Python the Guard leader who spoke to us just this morning.
Wait we have a live feed coming from the bridge of the Dominator".

Mylene knew there was a time when word's were useless so she watched as did untold others as the camera drone entered the bridge.
For a moment her heart sank seeing the suited figures still at their stations and she feared the worst and wondered what words would be a fitting epitaph, then she saw movement the bridge crew were moving it was subtle without an audio feed to detect. Mylene cut her mike "Del tell the Praetorian I need any audio feed they have for this" she almost screamed.

"I'm on it Mylene patching it in now"

Mylene heard it over her ear piece knowing that her audience would also be getting the same feed.

"Captain we will be cutting through in about ten minutes be advised to move away from the rear of the bridge area"

"Copy that chief the area is clear we are still not getting external feeds can you fix that ?" Captain Hallard replied his voice distorted by the radio signal.

"That's a negative at this time Captain we will be docking in ten minutes and the Guard have your six".

"Good too hear Chief I am pretty certain that all of us in here need a good shower and a cup of java before we do any thing else so we'll just wait for you to do your thing Hallard out".

Mylene cut the feed from the bridge cam and activated her mike. "There you have it Captain Hallard and his crew have been at their posts since the attack despite being trapped they have survived and more than that they have shown that even in these dark times there is always hope Mylene Haldon Argon news reporting live from Zyarth's stand signing out".

Claris watched the broadcast fearing the worst but then she cried as she heard Vinny's voice calmly discussing the rescue operation with his crew.
"Calton she called I want the crew of the Dominator to be housed in decent hotels all medicals and other bill's to be covered no charge see to it and get me the dock master online now".

[Sabrina Bergin]

Vincent and the others waited as the cutters did their work sealing their suits to avoid breathing in the acrid smoke that was produced.

It took time but at last the bridge access doors were cut away and the rescue team's came in one by one they were carried out and placed on gurny's and taken down to level two where the medical team's were waiting for them.
If he had the strength he would have started objecting but he was too weak to argue he was promptly stripped of his suit and clothing then bathed after which he was prodded and probed and had needles stuck into him that made the world spin around him and his vision go dark.

He came to some time later aware of the beeping of monitors and of Gill sat in the corner staring at him.
"Hey Gill how are we doing" I croaked angered by the weakness in my voice.

"We've been better Vince" she replied coming to the bed and taking my hand "Gus sent you a message said so instead of breaking his birds you've moved onto bigger things".

"Yeah the ship how is she ?".

"Beat to hell Skip but she is here as are most of the crew we lost some but the rest are just waiting for you to get better and let them know what to do now".

"We do what we always do Gill we get stronger and we carry on now how about you see when you can get me out of here so I can get back to work I have a ship to fix and a lot of people whose hand I want to shake".

"No sooner said than done skip" she said laughing "I was just waiting for you to wake up" Gil bought a wheel chair over and helped me into it.

"No good Gill I want my clothes I am not going to be wheeled around wearing this smock for Gunne's sake".
Gil left me and reached into a locker but instead of my flight suit she had a uniform laid on the bed.

"Apparently the Split Patriarch wans to see you so I bought appropriate clothing, now get dressed its rude to keep a Split family chief waiting".

I just glared at her then pulled of the gown the medics had foisted on me and got into the fancy suit then sat down in the wheel chair and let Gil push me out of the hospital.
We were on board the shipyard I realised looking at the press of people gathering at the entrance "put these on Vince" Gill said handing me a set of focal's that you get to see in fleet recruitment posters it made sense though there were a lot of media out there any effort to hide my face was welcome.

I stepped through the doors and was immediately surrounded by a squad of our marines unarmed of course but sufficient to allow me unhindered passage to the waiting transport.

The Marines stayed behind leaving Gill with me as we were taken to a formidable looking residence at the heart of the Ship yard.
We were let out at the entrance where a stern looking Split stepped forward and accepted the data pad Gill handed to him at which he stepped back and gave me the serva kai which I returned as he indicated we should pass inward.

Two Large Split warriors fell into place a pace ahead of us saying nothing but clearly leading us to our destination.

We were shown through several levels until we came to a pair of large solid wood doors which our escorts opened and indicated we should go in.

The room was huge with light centred on a dais at the far end of the room where an elderly split awaited us I approached to the edge of the Dais and performed a deep serva kai waiting to be noticed Gill followed my lead and did the same.

"Captain Hallard we are pleased to see you are recovered" the Split said in almost unaccented Common, "please step forward we would speak with you".

I stepped onto the dais proper and approached the Patriarch "would you join me in a glass of fire wine Captain ?".

"I would be honoured sir" I replied He smiled and poured three glass and signalled to an unseen observer who arranged for seats to be placed at a nearby table he led us to them and sat down his aides silently placing the glass's before us once we were seated.

He sipped at his wine and we followed suit this was a vintage wine and whilst still potent it was well flavoured with no harsh aftertaste unlike the raw stuff that was available in most of common wealth sectors.

"It would appear that I and my family are in your debt Captain the courage of your self and your crew is undoubted many would have abandoned the convoy when faced with such odds yet you did not. Please no false modesty Captain I have watched the media reports and spoken with those who were part of the convoy who you so ably defended all spoke of your determination to complete the task you had accepted".

"So as to rewards we are not I regret rich like some of the other Families but we will make what restitution to you that we are able know that at any time you seek aid you will find it here I have advised the dock master that there will be no docking fees for your self or your associates from this day forward. This will extend to our sector Twisted skies to the north where we have facilities you will find more suited to yourself and your people than we are able to provide here ".

"As to your ship well that I will leave you to discuss with the dock master for the moment I have a gift for your Guard please accept this blade and wear it Gillan Sillarn use it to guard your lords life with all honour". Gil took the richly carved Sword complete in a scabbard adorned with the symbols of the family Zyarth. Gill bowed deeply acknowledging the gift.

"A toast then Captain to the health of your self and your family you are ever welcome here".

We all drained our glass's and the Patriarch rose to leave us we stood and once again bowed deeply before heading for the exit Gil studying the gift she had been given.
We were escorted to the exit by the same two guards who had a transport waiting to take us back to the docks.

The trip was uneventful and it gave me a chance to sort my thoughts out first I would have to find out how badly damaged the Dominator was and for that I would have to speak with the engineering chiefs. I was led down the access hatch by one of the marines who was keeping the Media off the ship wary of the cameras I once again donned the focal's Gill had given me earlier.
Gus and Saul were in the main cargo bay directing teams of engineers in repair operations with schematics spread out over a large work station.

"Chiefs good to see you both again how bad is she ?". I asked.

"We can fix her Captain but it is going to take time and a bunch of credits then there are the materials Captain as far as they are available here at a price they are all in short supply here" Gus replied.

"We can ship in anything we need just give me a list and I will see you get it chief".

"Well if you can get the stuff I need promptly I would say we need at least three weeks in the dock here before we can take her out and finish of the repairs out there".

"You don't have to rush the getting out of dock bit chief I have been told by the Family head that they are waiving those charges for us for as long as it takes all we have to do is pay the men we will have to hire and for the materials and shipping costs for what we need so how long".

"In that case give me six weeks and she will be as good as new".

It was not what I wanted to hear but if the chief said that was how long it would take then so be it we would have to limit the scope of our operations for a while but it could have been much worse.
I went up to my office pleasantly surprised to see the bridge was fully functional with all signs of the damage to the bulkheads repaired.
Stick was there shouting something over the com at some one on deck four who couldn't find where to stow the freight he was shifting.

"Hey Captain" Stick said catching sight of me "fancy threads you going to a party".

"If I was you would get an invite stick no I am going to get changed I'll be in my office if any one needs to see me where's the rest of the crew "?.

"They are on deck two getting some systems on line the chiefs have got pretty much all of us run ragged but Its good to see you again skip and well I just wanted to say thanks for getting us all through it".

"No need for thanks Stick we all got a lot of help out there where's Onamu?".

" She jumpd out his morning with the Chokaro in tow seems we had a contract that needed filling the Guard jumped out later so we figure they are running escort duties somewhere we are getting a lot of contract offers Captain Onamu left them for you to look at".

Decent of her I thought leaving the bridge and powering up the monitors Gil walked in behind me still clutching that sword. "you really need to put that thing away Gill" I said glancing up at her as I sat down at my desk.

"You are an idiot Vince you don't get it at all do you, this is not just a sword Zyarth has given you or rather me for you its his Jatra that means he's basically adopted you into his family as a sworn ally it is an honour few split let alone an Argon have ever been granted by the head of a family He also addressed me by my name Vince which means he knows who we are but he won't be talking about it".

She strapped the blade to her back in the Split style the handle downwards
making herself comfortable with it.
There were implications in this I knew such as why the Split had given her the blade specifically and how he had managed to get an id on us but I had to much deal with as I looked at the list of materials we needed to worry about that now the rest could wait.
There was a call coming in from the dock offices Stick was putting through to me. I took it surprised to se an Argon sat in a plush office somewhere probably in system as there was no lag in the reply time.

"Captain Hallard I am Jannik Orlon I work for the Talos Corporation you are I am sure aware of us, suffice to say I have been instructed by our CEO to ensure that you are provided with any and all assistance in order to ensure your ship is made worthy in as short a space of time as is possible".

"That is a generous offer and one I am hardly in a position to refuse may I ask why the generosity".

"This must be held in the strictest confidence Captain apparently one of the freighters you protected is owned by her son. She would rather he not be made aware of our assistance to yourself in this matter he is a freelance trader and might be suspicious of our motives.
So if you could prepare a list of the materials you need we will expedite matters for you".

"I will forward you a list then Jannik and will you pass on my thanks to your Ceo".

"Of course Captain Hallard Orlon out".

My mother interfering again I realised but Carl had been in that convoy so maybe gratitude was all that this was and it would save me a lot of time and effort.
For the moment I had to concentrate on getting the Dominator back on line and more importantly to ensure she never got trapped in a situation like this again. Which led me to my next thoughts the factory in distant clouds could be expanded quite easily we would need a munitions complex it would have to wait for the moment I would need to speak to the dock master. I put a call through to his office and was given an appointment to see him they next day.

I checked our accounts pleased to see we had enough for what I would need over the next few weeks it would stretch us but it would be worth it.
I then pored over the raft of contracts that we were being offered and whittled them down to the ones we could manage at the moment and those that were beyond our abilities to undertake till the Dominator was back in service to which I replied with a brief apology and an assurance that once she was available I would notify those who had contacted us.

That done I turned to the more mundane housekeeping tasks that carried on needing to be done even though the ship was docked.

I glanced up as Gill placed yet another coffee on the desk and realised I had been at this for hours now. thanks I said powering down the monitor having done what I could for today the rest would have to wait.

I stood up to stretch my back and turned to look at the external monitor that was holding a view just of the damaged sections of deck five.
Swarms of small work craft were taking away the shattered sections of Hull and deck plating and lifting new hull sections into place at a steady pace pretty soon we would be able to pressurise that deck and then the real work would begin.

"Do you have to do that much paperwork every day ?" Gil asked.

"Not normally this much" I admitted "but yes a lot has to be done even for the routine day to day stuff".

"You are wasting your time Vince get some staff for Gunne's sake"

Gill was right of course the paper work load was growing as the scope of our operations did and I was in danger of getting swamped by it the trouble was I would have to find someone with the ability and the discretion our trade required. I wondered how to word a help wanted ad to that effect and grinned at the thought".

I put the empty coffee cup into the washer unit and took Gill by the arm "Okay Gill work over for today lets get something to eat we are going to have a busy day tomorrow". I walked through to the bridge where Hannah had taken over from Stick.

"Hey Captain you're looking better me and the rest were a bit worried for a while".

"No need for worries Hannah I'm fine let me know when the Praetorian gets back in system and call Deklar on the Chokaro I need to see him when he gets back as well".

"Will do skip oh by the way the chief dropped by he's gone on station with some of the repair crew he's got something he wants to speak to you about".

"Okay I'll find him Hannah I'll have a com unit on me if you need to contact me for any reason".

I left the bridge then glad to feel things were getting back to normal I told Gill I needed to get changed and went to my quarters and grabbed a quick shower and change of clothing before I met up with Gill by the access ramp lift she had changed out of her normal combat clothing but she still had that damn sword strapped to her back.
The look she gave me told me that to argue about it would be a waste of breath so I stepped of the ship after finding out where the chief had gone and grabbed a passing transport.
The bar was only a short distance from the docks and we soon found Gus and Saul and some of his teamsat at a table at the back with a Split we grabbed a couple of drinks from the bar and joined them.

"Captain excellent timing this is a friend I thought you should meet he has a proposition for you" Saul explained.

I looked at the man he was of family Rhonkar by his clothing I looked to him and waited to hear his proposal.

"Captain I am Chak'tal of Rhonkars fire, I came here some time ago looking to invest in a ship that would earn me honour amongst my family, sadly I did not realise the true cost of such a ship or of that required to ready her for battle even now I am being pressed by the dock master to pay the money I owe him for docking fees.
My family has ordered me to sell the ship and return home in shame for failing them. They have refused to allow me the funds I need and so I come to you your courage is without question your name is known throughout the common wealth. I will not return home in disgrace like a whipped cur instead I offer you my ship and my services it is my hope to win honour at your side".

"This Ship You say it is out fitted and ready where is it berthed I would like to see it".

"Of course Captain it is berthed next to your own come" he said standing and leading us to an observation port from where I could see the Dominator and The frigate berthed alongside it. I had seen it before but had assumed it belonged to family Zyarth.

"That Cobra is your ship ?" I asked.

"Indeed Captain but as I have said I have not the funds to pay the docking fees or to hire a crew to bring her to life".

"Alright Chak'tal I am interested how much are you looking for".

"36 million credits Captain she is worth much more equipped as she is but that is all the Dock master is willing to offer me even though he charged me more than that for her hull when I commissioned her".

I thought it over for about five seconds flat I had intended to commission a ship the next day with the dock master this would save weeks of waiting and I had a crew I could put aboard her right now just leaving the engineering and repair crew behind.

I would need more people I knew but for the moment it was doable it would take us to the limit of what we could afford but with a steady income from the Station in avarice we could maintain all our ships for some time before it really began to hurt even so we would need credit's a lot of credit's and I knew where I could find the means to get them.

"Alright Chak'tal we have a deal we will go and see the dock master tomorrow and sort out the paperwork". We shook hands on it after which we all returned to our table we had a few more drinks then went back to the Dominator Chak'tal with us. I had quarters assigned to him when we got on board. and headed for my own with a bottle of wine in one hand I poured us both a drink and took a long hard look at the Ship I had just bought.

Chak'tal had not lied the ship was fully equipped and even better it had a cargo bay full of missiles Hammers Flails and boarding pod's.
That was where Chak'tal had gone wrong I realised he had over estimated the number of missiles he needed on hand half of them would have to be stored and it would need a jump drive and E-cells. That was not a problem I would have the Chokaro pull one from one of her fighters and jump to Atreus HQ to replace it at the same time it could pick up the E-cells and hopefully enough crew to man her. from the military outpost in Aladna Hill where we already had some of our marines in training.

Gill accepted the glass of wine I poured her and she joined me looking at the schematics of that ship.
Then she pulled up another screen and started studying it so intently I had to take a look.
She was going through the Marines we had on our various ships tagging some for interviews the next day.

"What are you doing Gill" I asked.

"For that ship we are going to need our best Vince trust me I know all these people, a lot of us have had training for this line of work you leave this to me you just get me that ship and I will sort out the Marines".

[Sabrina Bergin]

Claris looked down on the Dominator that was now firmly docked at the station with heavy lifting gear moving into place about her frame.

She had also seen the footage of Vincent leaving the hospital and admitted he looked better than she had expected him to after what he had been through and the uniform made him look every inch the Captain he was.

She also saw that woman again the one who had dealt with her own Guards so easily and thought she saw something in the woman's eyes when she looked at Vincent. She was certainly presentable she decided then stopped herself. If the woman had set her eyes on Vincent then he was in for an interesting time. She had Contacted her local station Chief and given him clear instructions on how to deal with Vincent.

He might suspect her hand in it but she hoped he would accept it the way she intended it to be seen as gratitude for helping Carl nothing more, that was where she had failed with Brin she realised she had pushed him to hard for what she wanted not for what he needed well she would not make that mistake again.

Calton had informed her That Mylene and her crew were on board and that the ship would be ready to jump for Home at her word. He also told her That the woman needed to speak to her urgently so she told Calton to send her up to her office.

Mylene was clearly excited as she sat down opposite Claris in her office.

"They are fleet Claris all of them the crew of the Dominator the Guard all of them".

"And just how did you arrive at this startling revelation" Mylene Claris asked .

"Its just everything about them Claris they use fleet terms for the time of day and ranks everything. There's a story in this Claris I think this whole outfit is some sort of black op's unit why else all the secrecy ?".

Claris laughed out loud at that suggestion for different reason's than Mylene realised but it dampened the woman's zeal now she would have to snuff it out her son had enough to worry about without this woman's meddling putting him or his people in danger through her ignorance.

"I am sorry Mylene, that was not meant to be unkind but you are chasing down the wrong path on this and you will embarrass yourself if you choose to continue but that is your choice.
As it happens I know Captain Hallard quite well he has worked on occasion for the Talos corporation and the military the Fleet and other races who have all given him glowing references.

He is an ex fleet officer as are many of his crew as you have correctly surmised though they served under other names that I am not at liberty or choose to share with you.
When He first offered us his services I interviewed him myself and I ran a thorough background check on his background and service record.
We do not entrust the protection of millions of credits of cargo and ships to just anyone Mylene".

Mylene was gutted she really thought she had been on to something but Claris had exposed it for the folly it was and the more she thought about it the more she had to accept the explanation Claris had pointed out to her as the truth.

"Guess I nearly made a fool of myself there Claris thanks for letting me know what a mistake I was about to make".

"You would have seen it for yourself soon enough Mylene but I do have some news you might be more interested in the Fleet just love you at the moment they have asked me to approach you about doing a series on the Fleet both at home and in the war zones full access no restrictions other than those prior to major operations of course. Think it over then contact this man now if that is all".

Mylene took the proffered card satisfied Claris guessed the woman would soon be obsessing over her inside angle with the fleet and it had been a genuine offer she had been asked to put to the woman not just a convenient ruse.

That only left one other matter to attend to before they left for home.
She went down to the docking bay and climbed into her old fighter she had bought of the fleet shortly after she had started her business empire and she kept it in pristine condition now and again she would just take off in it childish she knew but it helped her focus on things without the distractions of the office.

She docked at the Trading port where the Venture was berthed initially to get their families back on board and then for her to let Carl know what was going on with Vincent.

She was to meet him on board the ship which bought back fond memories of when this had also been her home but those she put to one side as she met him in the office that had hardly changed at all.

"Carl you are looking well obviously the life suits you now we have to talk about Vincent, yes it is him and yes I knew or rather suspected that he and Captain Hallard were one and the same hell he's even worked for me she admitted.
The main thing is he is safe and well the question is what are you going to do now that you know the truth you do I hope understand the danger you would place him in if the wrong kind of people knew who he really is, they could get at him through you or me if they found out".

"I worked that part out myself mother" Carl said in the tone he reserved for when he thought I was treating him like an idiot which I admit I did on occasion.

"Gunne's mom when I spoke to him that first time and I saw that Q and the other ships I was so damned scared and then he pulled that do or die thing like it was something he did every day no hesitation whatsoever. How do you get to do that mom make that kind of choice ?".

It was a good question but to be honest I just didn't know I had served in the fleet myself back in the day but I had only myself to take care of then.
"It comes with the job he chose Carl that and an insane amount of courage to make the necessary hard choices".

"Then where the hell did he get that carrier Carl asked hell mom I am looking at my brother who was supposedly dead a year ago and here he is with a hundred million credits worth of ships about him".

I saw where that was going and I was not going to let it pass "Oh no Carl it was not me I wouldn't couldn't afford to buy a ship like that for myself let alone for Vincent but I can Guess how he got the money easily enough do you know how much a skilled pilot can make on one escort duty that may take two or three days at most well I can tell you that up to three million for a pilot with a good reputation in a single fighter you add in what you can do with more than one fighter let alone a pocket carrier like that Shrike then I can tell you that only the biggest corporations or governments have the means to hire them. I can also tell you that Vincent is regarded as one of the very best the last job he did for us we paid him five million credits and that was nearly a Jazura ago when all he had was that Centaur and the Chokaro with at most three fighters on board".

Carl was stunned by the figures I'd reeled off at him but they were accurate I had made it my business to know how much Vincent was making after his operating costs of course.
What I did not tell him was that after a certain figure was reached there would be a trade of with materials and supplies and concessions from the races government owned facilities. even so the fee for this convoy had been ten million credits but that would be swallowed whole by the cost of the repairs that ship needed. "Look Carl the only involvement I had here was in making that fleet rescue unit come here and I had to call in a hell of a lot of favours and make a lot of promises to make it happen. I will be speaking to Captain Hallard to let him know just that also that this is not something I am likely to be able to do again anytime soon or if at all now I will keep monitoring him Carl but I can't baby him he's chosen one of the hardest career choices there is out there and I have to respect that, I don't like it but I did not want him in the Fleet either all we can hope is that he keeps his people and himself alive and well".

Carl accepted that and I left shortly after having an emotional moment with Glisa though the idea of being a grandmother at my age would take some getting used to.
I docked at my Hyperion and once I had changed out of my flight suit I went home.

[Sabrina Bergin]

The Cobra:


I dressed up in the fancy uniform Gill had sourced for me and went down to meet Chak'tal in the loading area Gill was waiting for me in light combat rig complete with that Jatra strapped to her back.

The transport was waiting for us on the dock and I led the way flanked by Gil as Chak'tal followed close behind we arrived at the station masters office reception area in good time.
I was swiftly shown to his office where he had glass's of fire wine ready for us though I thought it a bit early so I just sipped at mine as did Gil.

Once the formalities were dealt with we turned to discuss the costs we had incurred to date which were considerable but not unexpected even without docking fees it had already cost nearly a million credits.
I paid the bill without demur unlike the Teladi the Split never haggled they gave you a number and that was it.

"There is one other matter I suggested regarding Chak'tals ship I would settle his docking fees as well".

"Captain Hallard you are aware are you not that we are instructed not to charge you docking fees for your ships" the manager asked.

"Indeed I agreed but as I have not yet purchased the ship I am obliged to meet my friends obligation to yourself am I not".

The manager thought about it for a moment but accepted my reasoning that by paying the bill when I could have avoided doing so I was acting with honour I promptly paid the bill, "Now there is just the matter of transfer of ownership of the Cobra to myself I assume you have the necessary contracts to hand".

"Indeed Captain you understand that on such a sizable transaction you must arrange the transfer of credits yourself ?".

"Of course please contact my Bank they will arrange the transfer to be innitiated directly"

The manager powered up the console reserved for such transactions one that was Guaranteed to be impervious to tampering and set up the transaction details which then needed the input of my security codes to begin the transfer.

It was not a speedy transaction as the first two had been due to the large amounts involved there was a complex checking system that transmitted the transfer in one million credit blocks that had to be verified by both the sending and receiving banks for the process to continue so it was ten minutes later before the machine printed out two embossed copies of the receipt. one for the Family Rhonkar and one for the Shipyard which would use it as part of the ship registration documentation.

The manager opened his safe and then extracted the ships key that would give me full access to the ship and enable me to get her ready for launch. "

Thank you I said accepting the key "I know your dock is crowded so we will move of station at the earliest opportunity we will of course need supplies and will contact you in due course to make the necessary arrangements".

The man was clearly happy at that news and he personally escorted us to the dockyard access doors himself. We hopped back in the transport pod and were swiftly dropped of at the access port to the ship The Dock guard scanned our pass then let us aboard.

There was only one lift working at the moment the rest required the ship to be fully powered up and that would only happen after the master key had been put in place.
The procedure itself was simple enough but it was a one time use key once inserted it would be locked into place.
As soon as it went in the generators went online and began to power up the ships systems.
After a few moments the bridge doors opened and I walked around the consoles still had their protective covers on so I took them of and stowed them in the cubby holds under the desks.

"Don't you want to try out the seat at least" I asked Chak'tal

He looked at me strangely for a moment then laughed as he realised what I meant.

"No Captain I am a warrior a marine I have no wish to sit in idleness when there are battles to be fought and honour to be won I had thought to hire one for such a task but I am no pilot".

That was an interesting take on my job description I supposed so I took the seat and bought the main screens and monitors on line then called the Dominator.

"Deklar this Is Hallard you can start sending over the outfitting crew now"

There was a brief confirmation and within minutes they started to arrive on the lower decks Gil ducked away just telling me she would meet me on the deck in five minutes or so I assumed she needed to freshen up.

I went down to the cargo deck as the crew started sorting themselves into groups several were studying the ships schematics on the monitors the Marines that Gil had selected in advance had obviously studied them already as I had the previous evening or were familiar with the layout.
Once everyone was ready and paying attention I stood up on a packing case to address them.

"Okay Marines you obviously know the ship's layout so stow your gear then report back and arrange for two guards at the access hatch I want full security procedures from now on".

Two marines had a quick word with the others then slung their phase rifles over their shoulders leaving their kit for their fellow marines to take care of and headed up the boarding ramp.

"Bridge Crew you know where you have to be so get this ship up and running we will be undocking at 1800 hours ship time. Marik you are the engineering Crew chief Gus recommended you so get your team down there and get her ready.
Medical you are on level two as are your quarters you wil ifnd the facilities to be top line and the main unit is fully stocked so just get yourselves up there and familiarise yourself with everything hopefully your services will not be under any heavy demand anytime soon.
Galley staff I'm sorry I don't have the name of the head chef whoever got given that job find the kitchens and food stores and let the bridge crew know what we need. I will want a meal ready at midday for every one so get yourselves busy those of you who have not been allocated a task just yet your quarters are all on deck three find the rooms you have been assigned and standby to receive instructions in due course."
The Marines returned and stood by the elevators reading the card passes and giving the crew directions on how to get to where I had sent them.

"Dannar you I think should come with me to the missile room that will be your primary task on this ship when in action and I will need you to get acquainted with those systems fairly quickly".

Gill rejoined me at that point with a look of smug satisfaction on her face.

"Explain the grin Gil you look obscenely pleased with yourself".

"I made my self the Cob Captain which means I got those quarters before Haskin could get to them he is going to be spitting teeth for day's".

That explained it The COB's quarters were next to my own near the bridge crews and were spacious compared to the others on deck four.
I got Dannar settled in in his work place which was a self contained sub deck that took up a lot of room due to the large number of missile loaders that ran the length of the work space as well as the boarding pod boarding operations area all this was overseen by a large gallery control room which had a nav/tac control and display system that was identical to the one on the bridge. I had already arranged the transfer of the excessive missile stock to the dominator which had enough free cargo space to house them, later when I had more time I would have to come up with a more permanent solution.
After that we made a tour of the ship finally ending up on the bridge.
The catering crew had I was pleased to note got the small galley behind the bridge up and running which is where I found most of my team waiting Mal had stayed at his post monitoring the cargo shipments we were sending to the Dominator and the foodstuffs that had been ordered from the docks quartermasters stores.
I went for the Chelts steak as did Gil and Chak'tal I also grabbed a pitcher of cold beer we joined the rest of the crew at their table and I poured myself a beer indicating the others should help themselves if they wanted to it was regulation strength and it was refreshing after all the walking I had done this morning I needed it.

I looked to the galley staff and told them to get themselves something to eat figuring that if anybody wanted more they could get it themselves.
Hannah finished her meal and left to relieve Mal she told me and a few moments later he walked in and helped himself to the food waving to the galley crew to stay put.

He joined us and poured himself a beer then began to give me a running update on the state of the loading operations which were almost complete.
Which meant that for the moment I could relax. later I would look over some of the paper work I had made quick decisions to get the ship into space ready fro her final outfitting away from prying eyes.

[Sabrina Bergin]

Carl sat back as he waited for Deklar to respond to his confirmation of orders.

The ship was ready to go the jump drive and all the upgrades they used as standard on all their ships now installed and operating.

They even had a name he had posted for the Station master just ten days ago. The Sword or Jatra in Split a Sword of Honour as Chak'tal had explained the more precise translation which he intended to use no matter what the rest of us did. The shake down cruise had gone well and we had now bought the crew of the Dominator up to full strength as well as having our own compliment up to proper levels I even had an aide de camp I suppose you could call him the man had taken over the office next to my day cabin and had attacked the mass of backlogged paper work and introduced a proper records system that covered all our personnel and asset records.

Now instead of hours of paper work I got summaries to write of on at the end of each day except for operational orders of course that alone had earned him his pay and then some.

Gil was ramrod straight at my side she had taken to her new post with a vengeance The Boat is secure Captain she said aloud listening to reports from her earpiece all hands at their posts.

"Message from The Chokaro Captain they are ready to go" Hannah called out.

"Acknowledge that Hannah tell them to go Helm I want a jump to their position five minutes after they jump out"

"Aye Captain I have the clock set and running"

"Message from the Dominator Captain reads, good hunting reply already sent".

That was it then the operation would now go forward and I would finally get revenge on the man who had cost my family so dearly a Jizura ago.
I had fully briefed all the senior officers of the fleet as I now saw it as to my motives and I had receiving the backing of everyone they all knew the risks we were taking as did everyone aboard this ship.
Gil had stated simply that the Marines were all up for it and glad at last to be able to add their expertise to the fleets armoury of weapons.
We had forty of them on board they would rotate in and out from regular ship duties taking turns at the boarding boarding ops.
That had been Gil's Idea even with a full team deployed we would have the alternate team on stand by which gave us a great deal more flexibility.
The clock counted down and we jumped initially to the south gate of Heavens Assertion where the Chokaro had already sent its scout octopus through the south gate to put up a satellite so we would not be jumping in blind. We got the satellite feed even as we manouvered clear of the gate the Octopus had done its job and put a satellite up twenty clicks from the gate and was heading for the gate at an insane speed.

I knew the Pilot Nil Weamock he used to race in freedom's reach before joining us his call sign was Twitch on account of his reflex's which made him look slightly jumpy even when not in a cockpit.

"Stick start the jump sequence when he is ten seconds out and take us to this point" marking it on my terminal which was linked to his to his during ops.

"Hannah make the call" I ordered and soon her voice was reverberating through every speaker on the ship.

"All crew action stations I repeat action stations weapons safeties are off"
Hannah kept repeating that message till we reached our jump position and the drive began to spool up.
I had already turned the key in Zyarth of course but I wanted everyone to know we were going in harms way Gil gave my shoulder a squeeze then headed for the missile deck she had insisted on being on this op not only because she was the most experienced in boarding ops but she wanted to see her people in action.

Like hell I thought she was as bad as the rest of the marines they all wanted to be at the party. I had of course reviewed her choice of team members but I had let the decision rest with her still I had not realised the stats they all had in the major boarding skill sets no wonder she had turned down the idea of sending them of for additional training.

We jumped in system and Stick changed our heading to move to the position I wanted to be in as soon as we got there Stick transferred control to me and I headed deeper into the system moving out of our satellites range and switching to our on board sensors for scans around us a moment later the first two tango's appeared on or screens.

"Missiles" I said calmly into my head set mike "I would like you to deal with those ships for me".

Dannars reply was almost childishly gleeful.

"Missiles fired and reloading Captain"

Only six Hammers were launched and I watched them go past our forward monitor view point they would take time to reach their targets but Dannar had assured me that once launched they would take out the Dukes preferred support ships ten times out of ten.

At last I got our intended targets on the monitors and vectored towards them Dannar did not have to be told and I could see him switching targets and launching almost casually. we were closing on the Zeus rapidly now and I began to alter course cutting our forward speed to a crawl and bringing her about I wanted her as near the gate as possible before I started the boarding operation which was why the Alpha team were sat down in the pre launch bay watching their own tactical display of what was going on around us.

I let the escorts close to fifteen clicks then matched speed with the Zeus Dannar would take care of them before they got into weapons range.
We all flinched at the missile lock warning understandable after Zyarth I knew but Mal was on the ball none of them got close enough to even register on our shield indicators.

The Zeus was in our chosen operating range now and Dannar began attacking the last two escort ships signalling to my screen that the boarding pods were ready to go. The last two escorts were destroyed as easily as the others now the real work began and I would get to see at first hand if we were ready for this line of work.

Dannar waited till we were at a predetermined distance from the gate then began launching Hammers at the Zeus the object being to take down it's shields whilst maintaining its hull integrity.
The object was to capture that ship not to destroy it or damage it beyond hope of salvage.

I watched the targets hull strength drop rapidly as the first wave of missiles caught it full on. The next barrage was already on its way and I hoped Dannar had guessed correctly how much damage the first wave would achieve Mal was still busy launching counter missiles for the ones the Zeus was firing at us we had failed to notice the missile lock warnings anymore at this point which was no bad thing.

He was launching more missiles now in measured intervals as the targets shields stayed at zero I didn't even realise he had launched the pods till I heard Gils voice over the com announcing they had reached the target.

Dannar was timing his missile launch's with uncanny precision the shields of the target never stayed at one percent for more than one or two seconds every one was listening to the coms from the boarding teams only Chak'tal could speak to them giving them advice as and when needed other wise we stayed of the coms not wanting anything to interrupt the operations com link.

I suspected Dekalr on board the Chokaro was also listening in getting his ship ready to jump in for the final part of the operation.
The combat teams were moving onto deck five now and Gil seemed to be enjoying herself as she coordinated the assault teams I had never heard her raise her voice before and it was startling to hear her shouting orders at a volume I am certain we would have heard here even without the com link.

That's it the ship is ours she signalled and I saw the flash's of light as the escape pods were launched the surviving crew abandoning the ship.

"Get us alongside I ordered and Signal Deklar I want our teams back asap and then we decide on plan A or B".

Stick took the helm and I waited for us to get the Zeus in range of our scanners.

Life support has been re-established on the Carrier Captain Chak tal reported removing his head set and signalling that normal com traffic could be resumed.
The Pegasus raider was already en route for the Zeus's Hanger Bay where the marines were waiting to install the jump drive it carried in its hold, But I told it to abort as I got close enough to see the carrier had been captured and not only was it intact but it still had most of its weapons and all of its shields on board and best of all a jump drive.

The Duke was not going to be happy about that. I ordered the prize crew to make ready and transported them straight to the hanger bay where the marines took charge and escorted them to the bridge next I beamed over the E-cells enough to get Them to Zyarth's that was followed by the Second team of marines who would help in ship operations and defence till it was safely docked. Finally We transported back the Alpha team who headed straight for the debriefing area where they would have time to shower and get changed out of the armoured rigs thy had donned for the operation.
I waited for ten minutes to make sure everything was stable then rose and made for the lift.


"Stick you have the com set a course for Zyarth's we jump out last understood ?".

"Plan A it is Captain" he agreed grinning as I left the bridge and went straight down to the Missile deck.

Hannah watched the skipper leave and she turned to Mal "you don't think"

"I'm putting money on it Hannah it's about time he made a move on her those two just sparkle when they are together".

"Oh my Hannah" said covering her mouth as she started to giggle

I got of the elevator and went through to the debriefing room she was marking up a white board her hair still damp from her shower.

I watched her for a moment as she filled in the details. She stepped down and smiled when she saw me.

"What is that about I asked recognising the numbers but not the purpose behind it".

"That Vince is the target for Beta team to aspire to and I have to admit we did a damn good job only two percent damage by the boarding team missile damage does not count she continued but the ship value does wether we sell her or keep her. We did good today she beamed at me it was textbook stuff".

"You also scared the hell out of me Gill I said stepping forward and placing my hands on her shoulders".

"Hey we've talked about this remember did you hear me complaining when you parked us across the path of that Q no you didn't, this is what I am trained to do Vince and if I say so myself I am damn good at it".

"You are at that I conceded but hey I am allowed to worry a bit okay".

She just got that grin going again and before I knew it we were locked together in an embrace that neither of us wanted to end. But it had to of course as I heard and felt the jump drive spool up she pushed me back just a little.

"Now you get to do your thing again Vince I'll be up there with you in a minute just give me a chance to get dressed okay".

"Okay I said leaving her despite the fact I did not really want to".

Gill watched him leave her heart beating like a repeater on full auto, gunnes sake she was trembling she realised she ducked back into the showers and then got her ship light combat suit back on taking care with the positioning of the Jatra as Chak'tal had instructed her.

She arranged her hair and checked her appearance before she left the locker room and headed for the elevator.

"Hey guns way to go two captures in one day" Rider called out

"Leave her alone rider but seriously Guns you get tired of him I've got first dibs right he's a hunk Erine chipped in".

After that she ignored the whistles and jibes feeling her face redden as she almost leapt through the lift doors.
She took the few moments she had to compose herself again but she couldn't help but agree with Erine he was a hunk. She felt herself start to redden again so she put those thoughts aside for now.

The jump had been made and she oriented herself on their position they had jumped in right on the tail of the Zeus and were now protecting it as it headed at its maximum speed to the Shipyard Vince had commed ahead and got the Dominator to clear her berth after getting permission to dock the Zeus. It was good to see the dominator moving under her own power again and better yet once she was clear of the docks the Guard launched and took escort positions around the Zeus.

[Sabrina Bergin]

The Zeus was docked and a rotating guard was arranged using the marines from the Dominator. Deklar had given over Command of the Chokaro and was at the moment patrolling the sector for the Patriarch it was a courtesy we extended for obvious reasons when ever we were in sector.

Soon she would be ready for active duty for the moment I had arranged a Party for the Crew of the sword at one of the better bars on the equipment dock for this evening when I got a call from the dock access hatch saying the shipyard dock master was waiting to see me.

Show him up I ordered and I poured three glass's of fire wine Gil had heard the call so she waited by the door to escort the man in I was about to get some very good news that would take care of all our bills and get us fully equipped and still leave a respectable amount of the prize's salvage value in our accounts.

The shipyard manger came in and took the seat I offered him his own guard joined Gill at the door after they had exchanged mutual Serva kais at the door.

You have captured a rare prize Captain and in almost pristine condition I wonder that you do not keep this vessel for your own use. The man sipped his wine as did I.

To be honest It is too large to provide the necessary fighters that it needs and the crew to make her fit for battle is beyond my current reach.

Then perhaps we can be of service to each other The Split continued My lord recently commissioned a carrier much like your Shrike but on seeing this carrier you have brought to us My lord has expressed an interest in it. The Panther Raider is still under construction but once complete it would make a fine addition to your fleet.
To be honest this in itself does not match the value of the ship you have brought to us is there any other way in which this can be resolved.

I got it then the Family Zyarth was still suffering from the lack of heavy trade with the common wealth they had once enjoyed therefore they were credit poor.

"I believe an accommodation can be reached " I conceded and I saw the man breathe a sigh of relief.

"I intend to invest heavily in the Sector Twisted skies it is underdeveloped where only a little investment is needed to allow it to reach its true potential the family Zyarth has honoured me and my family above all others and has given us a place we feel we can call home. I intend to build a complex to produce munitions for the Jatra I would rather it were built under the Care of your lord than elsewhere plus I see no reason why the complex cannot be geared to produce a surplus of intermediate products that would generate resources for the stations your lord has already constructed.

If I may said the split looking to the terminal on my desk Please I allowed giving him my seat.

He spent a few moments punching in some numbers then got out a data pad and entered some more figures into the terminal.

He finally put the results of his work up on the main terminal This is a proprosal that would produce a complex that would more than meet your requirements and would provide an over production that would support the fledgling economy in both our sectors he demonstrated using a simulation to predict the actual out put over a month .
It would however require an additional twelve million credits would you be prepared to make such a commitment.

"I would but you have failed to allow for the transport costs it is only proper that the Captain and crew of that transport ship are properly paid for their efforts I intend to build other stations here in the future with our Lord's permission of course and it would be wise to win the friendship of that Captain".

"You are as ever correct and as honourable as ever if I may speak with my lord in private for a moment"

Of course I allowed and left the room to him whilst he received his lords permission for the planned complex.
I explained this to Gill briefly and she could see the sense in it at once to be actively supported by one of the Split families would give us a base of operations where we would be free of the constant necessity of maintaining our anonymity.

"You forgot the most important thing Vince Gil whispered I need to know the Salvage value of that ship".

That damn white board of course but I could see she was deadly serious and tried to think of a way to ask the question when I realised the best way would be to tell the man the truth.

His Guard opened the door and stood aside to let us pass.

"My Our Lord he corrected himself has considered our proposal and he has granted his permission he has also asked me to extend his thanks for your concern for the welfare of the family Zyarth ".

"As ever I am honoured by our lords notice shall we complete the formalities in the morning then matters can proceed at their own pace the station construction I appreciate will take time and we both have much to do in the interim".

"Till the morrow then Captain he said draining his wine and shaking my hand ".

I stopped him before he could leave and explained the matter of the trophy board and the necessity of the actual value of the ship I might have been offered had his Lord not expressed an interest in the Carrier.

"Warriors he laughed they are ever competitive" he agreed and reached for his data terminal and printed out a valuation.

"Once again my thanks Captain" he said on leaving the ship access port and climbing back into the transport pod that would take him to his own Ship.

"Well" Gill asked as we walked back into my office and I poured us both a fresh glass of wine the complex projection was still up on the monitor I handed Gill the Valuation and continued to study the complex projection It lacked for nothing and the surplus would indeed provide a sharp stimulus to the local economy that would help in future development plans that were already forming in the back of my mind.

I checked the time and called a video conference and explained the deal to the others I transmitted the projected complex details as well as the proposed benefits not only to ourselves but also to family Zyarth.

There was some discussion mostly about short term finances which we all agreed could be covered by a single operation like the one we had pulled of yesterday and that together with our own increasing operations across the common wealth would mean we could consider other stations probably our own equipment dock which was one thing we all agreed we had to consider over the next Jazura we could not keep our entire fleet in space for extended periods. and a lot of our crew had families we had to make provision for them some how.

we all agreed that the deal with the Zyarth was the right way to go and we would consider our options when we had the means and the time to do so.
Then we took the opportunity to discuss operations that we had contracts for the news of the dominators return to service had generated a lot of interest from the Boron in Queens Harbour and the Teladi corporation in PTNI both of which promised unique rewards unspecified for our assistance which was okay by us we were used to the larger corporations paying us in kind rather than hard cash.
It was strangely enough the smaller contracts who were the ones that kept us liquid credit wise.

[Sabrina Bergin]

The video conference was fairly brief and whilst everyone endorsed my decision it seemed off some how but I didn't have time to get into that right now.

I closed the link down and went back to my quarters and dressed appropriately for the upcoming party for the crew arrangements had been made for a night watch and marines from the Dominator to man the ship whilst we were absent for the next twenty four hours.

I met Gill at the access ramp lift and was glad to see that she had not chosen to wear the Jatra this evening I was determined that the Crew of the Sword should be able to relax properly and enjoy the rewards I had promised them they had worked hard to get the ship up to speed and I needed them to meld themselves into a single cohesive unit.
There was a lot of activity in the cargo area which I assumed Marrell had arranged no doubt I would get a memo explaining it at some point the man was nothing if not efficient.
The Crew had already been taken to the dockside hotel where we had booked pretty much every room they had by larger transports than the one the docks offices had provided for me and Gill.
The thing was given route priority over all other traffic and when we arrived we were escorted into the hotel proper by the manger himself.

The function room was huge and there was a cheer from the crew as I entered the room with Gill on my arm.
I made my way to the top table escorted by the hotel staff where after seating gill then sitting down next to her myself Mal poured us both glass's of sparkling wine that tasted suitably expensive.

"You have to give a speech skip" Mal said after poring the wine "that's what everyone is waiting for".

I explained patiently that I did not do speeches until I felt a sharp jab in the ribs that nearly made me choke on my first swallow of the wine I looked to Gill and realised my choices were limited to none in this instance so drained my glass indicating Mal should refill it before I rose and turned to face my crew.

"Ladies and gentlemen tonight we celebrate victory not in the successful operation that we completed yesterday but in demonstrating to the fleet as a whole that the Sword is a force to be reckoned with and that we will prove so again and again.
But what is the Sword ?. I shall tell you it is every man and woman in this room be it a steward who caters to our needs and comfort or one of those insane lunatics over there who think being launched in a missile at our enemy is actually a fun thing to do. No the crew is every last one of us all of you have proven that working as one single unit we can achieve great things and it is to pay tribute to all of you that we are here this evening.
This evening there is no discussion of our work or of rank we are all one so enjoy the party you have all earned it. Ladies and gentlemen I give you a toast The Jatra".

Everyone stood and repeated the toast the roar of their voices echoing of the ceiling high overhead and drained their glass's allowing me a chance to sit back down where I signalled to the stewards who were hovering nearby to replenish all the glass's at the table.

The background noise rose steadily as everyone started to relax the meal was memorable but not as much as some of the anecdotes that we shared amongst ourselves as the evening went on it was a pleasure to see and I could not help but feel pride at what was being achieved here.

A steward whispered discreetly in my ear at one point and I nodded my agreement and led the way to the lounge area where more intimate seating arrangements were revealed as a partition wall was withdrawn I led our group to a table near the bar allowing the hotel staff to remove the tables in the main room to leave a dance floor where they had been.
A group of musicians began playing from a gallery overhead but no one was moving to the dance floor

"Shall we I" asked Gil not wanting the enjoyment of the evening to stall.

"Its what they are waiting for Vince she agreed" allowing me to lead her to the centre of the floor.
The leader of the musicians saw us and changed the music to that more suited for dance and Gill I was pleased to note was an accomplished dancer, we glided across the floor oblivious to all around us and to be honest I was annoyed when the music came to an end.

Gill led me from the floor amongst a smattering of applause from the crew who when the music began again followed our lead filling the dance floor.

After that I began to relax the crew was bonding together better than I had hoped after the initial dance both Gil and I were asked to partner different members of the crew. I must admit to feeling an urge to kill every man who laid hands on her but I supressed it knowing that some time soon I would have to do something about what was growing between us.

Chak'tal was a major surprise when Thalia a woman who matched him in stature spoke to him harshly in fluent Split and led him to the floor.

The musicians changed what they were playing again at a signal from Chak'tal and I watched in awe as the pair of them began a formal Split dance that was as much a challenge as anything and strangely beautiful to behold.The hall was absolutely quiet as we all watched the dance.

"Oh my" said Hannah "that is the Traddatal its a challenge to a prospective male oh this is so beautiful" she gushed.

Indeed it was beautiful to watch I conceded mesmerised by the intricate moves where each partner challenged the other in too many ways for me to grasp clearly.
The dance ended too soon and Chak'tal bowed deeply to Thalia then led her to a secluded table to the rear of the room.

I felt a little concerned but Gil whispered in my ear that it was okay Thalia was from the family T'kyr sector and knew exactly what she was doing.
after that the rest of the crew tried to outdo Thalia and Chak' tal but they had little chance of that.

"I need some air" I whispered to Gill much later I had a lot to do in the morning and getting trashed would not help.

I walked out onto the terrace that was at the rear of the hotel delighted to find a parkland area with trees and grass and high overhead a clear dome that allowed us to see the stars I took Gils hand and just wandered till we found a discreet open air bar where we sat down and shared a pitcher of ale making idle small talk.
All to soon the bar closed and I escorted Gill back to her room sorry the evening had ended but feeling closer to her than I had ever done before I kissed her gently at her door and turned to go to my own rooms when she pulled me back she said nothing but slammed the door behind us then I gave in to what I truly wanted and we tore the clothes from our bodies and made love until the early hours our hearts beating as one as the fires of our passion overwhelmed us both.

I woke some time later aware of Gill's body curled into my own I touched her skin feeling that same fire burning within me she must have felt that same fire as she turned into me and we made love again gently and with that passion engulfing us.
We lay together sharing warmth and feelings that needed no words until we heard movement in the other room and a steward informed us breakfast awaited us should we choose to partake.

At that point I was suddenly ravenous and Gill must have been as well we untwined from each other and donned robes we found and sat down together at the breakfast table that had been arranged in the entry room.

"Where do we go with this I asked finally as we shared a pot of coffee ?".

"For the moment we play it as it comes Vince look I wanted this I have for a long time I think I hope you want it as well Gunne we are so good together and I think I love you I can't be sure I've never been in love before not like this and it's blowing my mind Vince".

I knew where she was coming from even now when I looked at her my heart started going mad in my chest it was hard even to just breathe.

"I feel the same way Gil gods just sitting here with you completes me I don't want you to ever leave if you did it would tear the heart out of me when you were dancing last night with the crew I felt an urge to kill them just for touching you, I don't know what the future holds but with you at my side I feel nothing can touch me I love you gill I want you to be my wife no matter what the cost does that tell you enough how much I love you".

She looked so vulnerable for that moment that it made my heart ache for her I took her hand and recalled the words. they were old they went all the way back into the dim reach's of history when Traders first started travelling the stars.

"Here is my hand" I said formally grasping her hand tightly and pulling it to my chest "and here is my heart do with them as you will".

She looked at me in confusion for a moment till I explained that by trader tradition if she so chose we were now engaged.
She said nothing for a moment absorbing the words I had spoken and looking into my eyes for I knew not what but I was afraid at that moment for in a word she could dash my hopes perhaps she saw that and more for she pulled my hand to her breast and repeated my words and thus it was done the forms observed I took her hand and kissed it solemnising the vows we had shared.

[Sabrina Bergin]

"We both need to get dressed she said at last we have an appointment remember".

"No we have the day of gill" I assured her

"Hah she shouted from the shower that will last about five minutes till some one has a problem only you can fix now go get changed I will not be late".

I looked up from the table and picked up my discarded clothing and just rolled it into a bundle under my arm the hotel staff in the corridor ignored me as I walked past them and fumbled with my key card when it finally opened the door I slammed it shut behind me and dived into the shower.
I found the fancy uniform on a stand in my bedroom and as I had anticipated being back on board last night I knew who had arranged this but I wasn't angry far from it just showed that she had wanted last night as much as I had and I felt a bit easier after accepting that. Which was going to lead to a whole host of things we had to sort out but they could wait I was officially off duty and the call to the shipyard office should take a couple of hours at most.
I went down to the foyer and spoke with the manger for a few moments before settling the bill assuring him that his staff had made the evening memorable and that I would recommend him to my associates in the future.

The fact I left a sizable gratuity for his staff pleased him immensely and when Gill arrived he escorted us personally to a hotel transport courtesy of the house he assured me.

The business with the station manager was completed swiftly and Gill and I strolled down the docks just enjoying the moment.

Gill was wrong about one thing it was nearly eight minutes before one of those problems came up and I had to get a taxi back to the Sword.

I arrived on board a little while later only to find the lifts to the bridge deck were off line.

"Sorry Captain maintenance found a problem and they want the lifts to that level shut down till it is resolved your assistant has arranged an office on this deck as a temporary measure for your use"

"Okay Jovi thank you" I said finding the office and powering up the terminals.
At which point I began to doubt my assistants memory I had told him I wanted him to deal with these minor problems but as I couldn't reach him I waded in and started going through them grateful for Gil who seemed to know just when I needed another coffee before I exploded in frustration. it was late in the evening before I finished and I realised the lifts were working again I shut down the terminals and threw my used coffee mugs into the recycler before I walked to the lifts.

I was taken straight to the bridge and waved tiredly at the crew heading aft to my rooms I walked in and palmed the lights then stood there confused thinking I had somehow made a mistake but no that didn't make sense where my office had been there was now a suite of furniture and there were pictures on the walls and they had been painted a different colour there was even a tri-vid display panel on the wall and at the far side there was a small galley area.

"Do you like it" Gill asked from behind me and then it all came together she had done this not just last night but every thing I recalled the unusual activity on the cargo bay yesterday and being kept of this deck when I had come back on board this morning.

"There's more" she said leading me out of my quarters and down the hall to hers which had also been transformed into a conference room complete with monitors and nav-tac displays everything.

"I thought you were unhappy with that last video conference so I thought what you needed was a place where we could all meet and have proper discussions about the things you sign us up to".

That unravelled a knot in my mind I had been unhappy with that video conference this was a much better idea I could work with this.

"Okay Gill I approve set up a conference when everyone is in sector but I am really tired and I want to get some rest."

She took my hand and led me back to my no our quarters now and we both settled down on that really comfortable couch and watched the news casts
then some light entertainment programs for a while.
Gill opened a bottle of fire wine and we both just sat there chilling out.

"This is complicated Gill I said at last how do we make it work out there" I said indicating the ship beyond that door.

"That's the border she replied we step over that threshold and you are the Captain as I will be the Chief of the boat its the only way it can work Vince"

She was right of course and had worked out all the angles. "Hey I said did I tell you I love you" I whispered accepting the rules she had set.

"Not for at least three hours she whispered" taking my hand and leading me out of the room.

[Sabrina Bergin]

The conference was for the next morning Onamu had received an urgent request for help from the Teladi in PTNI a Pirate force was laying waste to Merchant's Haven where they had invested heavily in munitions and arms factories.
As a result of the Pirate activity which they admitted consisted of a substantial force all trade had come to a standstill and millions of credits had already been lost.
Onamu was at the far end of the table but her authority carried.

"This is a job for the entire fleet Vince we have got bragging rights to date but now we have to prove we are not just bluster and vapour ".

"I take it you have a plan Onamu lay it out for us".

Onamu walked to the main display screen and plugged in her data pad the images stared to come up on the terminals on the table as she walked us through it. The plan was a straightforward one use the carrier and its escort to sweep the area and deploy satellites with the cobra parked in its shadow ready with its missiles to eliminate enemy fighter units and anything else that showed up as we did a slow progression to the south gate .
The Chokaro would act as a supply tender for the sword carrying enough missiles to decimate an entire sector and its fighters would act as a screen for the those three ships.
The raider would jump into the sector behind the active duty ships as a deterrent no more any tango that spotted it would expect it to have a full compliment of fighters on board it did have anti fighter defences that would be manned but hopefully they would be unnecessary.

Onamu had covered everything and to be honest it was like being back on the Dauntless which I am sure every one in that room felt same as I did.
I could not fault the plan and I nodded indicating I saw it as a go everyone else followed suit.

"One thing I said if we come across a capital ship I want a crack at it otherwise everything is good as it stands".

Onamu considered it "If that Capital ship becomes a threat what then ?" Vincent she asked.

"Then we fire enough missiles into it to vaporise a planet we can do this people exactly as Onamu has laid it out but if we get a chance to cap a pirate carrier or a destroyer then we should take it I just don't want you guys blowing a fifty million credit prize if there is no need".

There was a brief discussion and that option was included subject to the fighters being eliminated and our ships being safe.
The launch time was set for two hours from now the Praetorian first followed by the cobra and then the Dominator at the north gate in five minute intervals.
We took our copies of the order of battle and began to make our way our duty stations luckily I did not have far to go.

"Vincent I'm sorry I should have thought of going after a capitol ship myself ".

"Hell Onamu you thought of everything else and chances are if there is a capital we will have to blast it to dust regardless lets see how it pan's out".

Onamu gave me a curt nod and left to make her way back to her ship.

After that we undocked from the station and moved to our jump point Beta team was in the ready room already and the whole ship was buzzing in anticipation of getting it on with Pirates all of us had a history of them killing friends or family and they wanted payback.

The ships jumped out at steady intervals and Stick timed the jump to the second we emerged at the north gate and accelerated to follow the Dominator that was already launching the Guard, The Chokaro came in hard on our heels followed by the raider which moved towards the orbital defence platform Then the octopus launched from the outpost and accelerated hard for the trading station high above the ecliptic where it would drop its satellites and return to the outpost. It was a refinement Onamu had come up with prior to launch and it had not delayed us at all better yet it gave us a tactical advantage.

That was evident as soon as we saw the Galleon and the Brigantine and their screen of fighters that were busy targeting freighters.

"Missiles I ordered over my head set when in good range I want a barrage of flails I want all those fighters to go away"

"Copy that Captain I am tracking multiple targets we require to close by twenty clicks to ensure good contacts".

"Hannah inform the Dominator we have to advance twenty clicks to our targets Copy that to the Praetorian, Mal I want your best game today we can expect a variety of missiles to be thrown at us if those fighters get a chance to close on us Team Alpha you are to go to standby position".

Vince are you mad you can't believe we will get a chance to get both those ships she whispered as Chak'tal left his post and went below to get suited up.

"One is good but two is better Gil" I whispered back "now pick up for Chak'tal".

Gil stiffened but picked up the head piece Chak'tal had left on his terminal and took over his duties.

Dannar was as good as ever and the Guard dropped back as he unleashed hell at the pirates fighters I altered our course as the brigantine came after us we out matched it for speed but I wanted it some distance from the Galleon that was still pounding on a factory to the south unaware that its destroyer had come after us.

"Dominator I signalled hold position we are going for the Brigantine".

"Copy that Sword we will deal with any fighters you might have missed once those flails stop flying".

"Mal give me a strike window to allow time for capture of both ships start to finish keeping them out of range of each other and give me a wide margin of error on the side of safety".

"I'm working the numbers Captain we can start the attack on our current target in ten minutes providing that Galleon stays put".

"Dannar did you get that ?" I asked

"I have that Captain I have firing solutions updating on our current target Team Beta are in the pods team Alpha is standing by Captain before we fire at our current target I want a long range strike on the Galleon That way I can have the job half done when we go for it with our primary target being boarded".
It made sense and I looked to Mal to do the numbers again He grinned and gave me a thumbs up.

"Okay missiles you have a go for that but the first team must be in place before we go for the secondary target is that understood".

"Copy that Captain if it gets too close I will make the secondary target go away".

After eight minutes Dannar launched a barrage of Hammers at the Galleon that was still in position in the south then he started on the Brigantine The first two missiles he used to judge what shields it had not having been able to get a scan of it prior to the attack once that was done he stripped the remainder then kept the shields down till they heard the hull contact signal and that the Marines were in.
Vince then changed course almost imperceptibly leading them back in a circle towards the galleon that had been hit by the earlier barrage and now was coming straight at them Dannar seemed unperturbed and once again began his steady firng of missiles behind the Brigantine came to a stop as Team bravo took control of the Brigantine with the Dominator moving towards it.

Vincent changed course again leading the Galleon away from the Brigantine once again Dannar got the shields down to zero with Team alpha making contact as he did so. Chak'tal was in his element as they heard him storming through the ship with his team converging on his position the ship was taken in short order and Vincent swung the Sword about again to take up a position between it and the south Gate.

They jumped the Galleon out first to the Queens retribution shipyard where the Praetorian was waiting to escort it to the dock with team Alpha back on board they moved to the Brigantine and Collected Bravo team.
The Dominator transported a jump drive and prize crew aboard and it jumped to The ship yard in Heavens assertion where they had an express waiting to retrieve the prize crew and jump drive.
from there the express jumped to the Boron shipyard and did the same for the Galleon before Jumping to Zyarth's stand to reunite them with their ship.

Vincent Jumped to PTNI to collect his payment.

The Teladi representative seemed somewhat embarrassed they were unable to make a cash payment as agreed as the primary contractor had gone bankrupt they had however seized his assets and since they were jointly liable for the debt they were happy to turn the Albatross over to him.

Vincent accepted the ship and had alpha team jump it to Twisted skies Outpost. Then he jumped Back to Zyarths himself The shipyard dock master came onboard and they discussed the stations placement progress then he came to the point he had been avoiding.

"The TL you acquired do you wish to use it in the placement of your stations ?".

"Not at all Vincent replied honestly I am more than happy with the arrangements we have made and your captain is doing an excellent job. The truth is it was payment I was obliged to take for a Contract the Teladi were unable to make the payment in credits as agreed so they gave me the ship ".

"Ah I see and you decided to use it to place your Head quarters you understand my concern".

"Of course but I assure you any stations that are built in Zyarth for my people will be done through your good offices".

The man left after that satisfied that his contracts were assured so Vincent had the cargo of the Albatross checked and found it did indeed have a station on board so He jumped north and took control of the huge ship and deployed the Station in the north west quadrant of Twisted skies adjacent to a Zyarth Jump beacon they were granted the use of.

He had The Sword dock at the station and called in the fleet

[Sabrina Bergin]

Home:

We all met in the conference room on the Sword The station at the moment was operational but it would take time before we could make full use of it.
The Team helped themselves too coffees before we sat down to discuss the station to discuss the station.

When we finally got to it was Onamu who asked the most pointed question.

"Okay Vincent you have once again surprised me but we all need to know how much did this cost us and I don't mean just in credits ?".

"The price was the cost of the contract in Merchant's Haven seem's the primary contractor went bankrupt and topped himself so The Teladi Banking Guild who had underwritten the deal seized his assets. Which included an Albatross. They offered me the Transport in lieu of hard cash as they were not interested in it but they were interested in the 14 million they were liable for.
The Result was I took the deal and they couldn't get me to sign the paperwork fast enough they did not even bother to check it's manifest" and that is the gunne's honest truth I told them.

"You mean the Teladi managed to miss out on a hundred million plus station because someone forgot to check a manifest man I would like to be there to see their faces if they ever realise what they did" Sandi said grinning.

"Well I for one won't be telling them but I have the Specs on this station but its more than just a shipyard this thing with the right staff and materials can manufacture and repair ships look how much it cost us to get the Dominator fixed up and that was with our people doing most of the work, it gets even better we can support an entire community here it will take some work but we can have housing and parks schools hospital everything the corporation headquarters have." I let them think about that it was something we all wanted a place we could call home and where we could be safe with our families.

"That still brings us back to money though doesn't it chances are that teladi offed himself because he went bust getting this thing we've spent a lot lately but have we got enough to afford this" Endy Seldon asked.

Maerell stepped in at that point and he put the numbers up on the monitors for every one too see the complex to the south was now up and running and generating a net profit of 1 million credits per month the station in Avarice was generating twice that on average after paying all outstanding liabilities The Praetorian's have in excess of a hundred million in your accounts.

"Those are the liquid Asset's available at this time" he concluded and sat back down at his desk.

"Alright so its doable Onamu agreed and it makes a lot of sense but do any of us know how to set this station up I mean we're all fighter jock's for gunne's sake".

There was a lot of heated debate at that point so I just sat back and waited to see if any one would see the answer was already in front of them me or rather my mother had built a station and turned it into one of the top ten corporations in the commonwealth.
Here all we wanted was a base of operations and a repair facility which left an awful lot of scope she might even want to put her local office here which I realised would give us an in to get her attention.

They got it eventually though Gill had to drop a few not too subtle hints.
After that it was just the detail's that needed to be worked out we already had the ships for the Panther or some of them at least waiting to be picked up at Light of heart and from there we could go to Terracorp to get them upgraded which would give me the opportunity to contact my mother who as she suspected who we were already was not as big a problem as it might once have been.

If I just took a minimal crew I would also get a chance to get more staff to bring back here and more Plots and marines we couldn't leave all the work to the Alpha and Bravo teams they were too good to be used for the routine grunt work most jobs entailed no those we would keep for the really big jobs for The praetorians.

The next thing was families how to get them here discretely.

"If I might be so bold" Maller interjected "I would suggest we simply recruit them we will after all be hiring a great many people there is no reason why they should be noticed amongst so many and the selection process should be able to ensure we get the personnel we want and need with no undesirables amongst them we are bound to attract some unsavoury types".

"I think we can agree with that Maller and you just got yourself another bonus I don't think we want anyone coming here till they have all been vetted and approved our primary concern has got to be our security so I think if I can get Talos corporation involved they can do the initial screening as though they want the people and we then ship them to Zyarths and then to here no one ever comes here directly we all jump to Zyarths then here".

We all agreed with that so at the end of the meeting we began sorting out the arrangements The Chokaro would begin a purchase spree to get laser towers for this base and boarding pods for the Sword we had plenty for now but We needed to keep plenty to hand after that I would go and get the fighters for the Panther and from there to Terracorp.

[Sabrina Bergin]

Tempting the Vixen:

The meeting broke up after that though Gill Sandi, Deklar and Onamu and our bridge team to stay for dinner we all went into our quarters and settled down with a few drinks giving the galley time to prepare a meal for us all to be honest I think Gill just wanted to make it official with the rest about us and Sandi seemed as much pleased as relieved that we had made it official I suspected from the way she and Deklar stayed close why and whilst I felt a faint pang of what might have been I was genuinely happy for them.

"Okay I am no prude Onamu say's but how does this work for every one else ?. I am not saying people should not get together we are all frown ups after all but we can't have a break down in discipline".

I looked to Gill to explain that "We have a rule she said simply beyond that door when we are on duty he is the Captain and I am the COB nothing more what goes on in here is private and it stay's right here, hell after the op yesterday Vince bawled me out for questioning a decision he had made and he was right to do so though to be fair he did it in his office not in front of the crew".

"That's what I was hoping to hear" Onamu admitted "in our line of work we have to have clear lines of duty established and there can be no exceptions to that not even for the Captains. I think if we establish that as a rule there shouldn't be a problem hell if we get people who can't accept that they can move onto the station here I'm sure we'll be able to find work for them".

We were called into the galley after that and the staff served our meal then left us to it instead of business though we just discussed the routine day to day things friends usually did which made it a pleasant evening for all of us.

All to soon it was over and we walked with them to the docks to wish them good night before we went home.
Gil kissed me soundly as soon as we were alone and I asked her what that was in aid of.

"For not contradicting me when I said you had bawled me out you should have done but you didn't so we both broke the rule there and we can't do that again Onamu is right we need discipline on board when we are working and I forgot that for a moment it won't happen again I promise".

Gill was right I should have bought it up with her at the time so lesson learnt by both of us I guess. I grabbed a couple of beers from the cooler and we sat down to discuss Talos Corporation or more specifically my mother who was Gills main interest even though she had met her she wanted to know more.
She had the right I suppose so I began recalling the stories my mother had told us as kid's me and Carl when we were on a trade run somewhere in the Venture that was when I first decided I wanted to be like her and join the fleet.
She had been fleet way back when a fighter jock as we had been fresh out of flight school and posted to Omicron fleet before the gate had been re-established with Earth and the Khaak were a damn nightmare for everyone she had served her time got promoted and won medals and all the rest and it looked like she was set for a life in the military when she ran into Brin.
There he was with a Brand new ship for the family and he was traipsing across the verse doing deals and living the life and they fell in love and it seemed they would stay together for ever.
They didn't of course my mother had always been driven to be the best at what ever she did and over time they drifted apart and finally separated when she got a job with Terracorp we stayed with my father and that hurt her later.
Any way she was too much for Terracorp she started her own company Talos shipping and she succeeded beyond even what she could have hoped to a point where within within a few Jizura she was the primary contractor for the fleet in Argon space and thanks to her time in the Venture she knew where to go and who to see to get people what they wanted.
The rest is history.

"Anyway you'll get to meet her again soon enough you are coming with me I hope. I think I want you two to meet properly".

"You Bastu Gil said hitting me you never told me that I thought you were going to leave me here".

"Oh yeah like I want both you and my mother on my case that is not a good idea. you'll like her Gil just look past all that CEO bull she hides behind".

Gil forgave me after that and the next day we took the Sword to and started a sector patrol after which Gill and I transferred to the Raider.
I called Dominator on the com and asked Deklar if he would mind sending the Khaak fighter over and got turned down flat seems as it was the only ship that had not even been scratched when the Hanger got smashed by the Xenon The chief had decided it was a lucky ship and did not want it reassigned so I settled for the Tenjin promising to return it as soon as we got back.

After that we jumped for light of Heart and then various military outposts as we picked up recruits and supplies for the fleet in a staggered journey that eventually led us to a position just of the Terracorp HQ.

I commed the station and got given clearance to dock but vetoed that as I wanted my fighters to be free to come and go to get the upgrades I wanted I left Yater in charge and took the Tenjin onto the station being flanked by a couple of sec defence fighters who obviously did not trust people flying a Yaki made fighter that was fully armed.

They guided us to an isolated berth where there was a discreet but notable security detail who watched us as we got out of the fighter.
Once we had been through the checkpoint they all backed of a bit and relaxed so Me and Gill headed for a the Hotel we had booked.

"Ma'am sorry to intrude but I have a message from Captain Hallard he wants to speak with you".

"Then put him through Calton".

"He's not on the com ma'am he has a suite at the Regulas hotel and has asked you to join him for dinner he wants to discuss a financial arrangement with you in person he was quite certain you would agree He suggested that you were the only person he felt has the expertise for the matter he wish's to discuss and you are the only person he feels inclined to trust given the rather large sum's involved he was not specific but he suggested the project is substantial".

Claris told Calton to set it up her curiosity piqued as he had known it would be. Vincent got that from her of course knowing that until she heard the proposal it would eat at her. She threw up the system scans trying to find The Dominator but it was not here there was though A Panther more than that a brand new Panther Raider and by what she could tell it was fully armed and crewed. That she decided was a statement for her, Vincent never did anything by halves.

The ship though surprised her she had been keeping a low level check on her activities but had found nothing to suggest he had the means to acquire that carrier so quickly, He certainly did not get given it by the Zyarth they were still struggling to rebuild their economy.

She glanced at the time piece and found she did not have all that long to prepare herself. She shut down her terminals and went to get ready wondering what other surprises Vincent had in store for her.

Claris arrived in good time and was immediately escorted to a private dinning room signalling her Guars to remain at the door she was ushered in by the maître de who took her wrap then led her through into the room proper staying back at a discreet distance till he was called upon.

Claris had to admire Vincent' style he was demonstrating his wealth and the ease with which he was able to frequent such places.
There were three of them waiting for her seated comfortably at the table just away from the dining table that had been set up and a large data display had been set up for her benefit no doubt.

The women he recognised despite the fact she was elegantly dressed for a change the man with them she didn't so assumed he was here to give the demonstration of whatever Vincent wanted her to look at.

"Vincent it's about time you deigned to speak with me she said and caught the instant flash of anger in the other woman's eye's at her choice of word's ".

"Be nice mother please he asked Mother this is Gill, Gill this is Claris Gill means a great deal to me, I want you to be friends".

"I am sorry shall we start again then, you have obviously taken a lot of effort and risk to be here so I am intrigued as you knew I would be what is it you want that you are so certain only I can provide Vincent ?".

Vincent poured her a drink a rare Split vintage fire wine that she knew for certain he had bought with him from Zyarth just for this meeting. The devil is in the detail she acknowledged remembering how she had repeated that to him uncounted times in the past. She sipped her wine and waited despite her growing impatience to know exactly why he felt they had to meet.

"I have a project I want you to over see mother Marrell if you would run through it for my mother please".

"Certainly Sir the Captain recently purchased a station for use as a home base for the fleet as you will appreciate people in our line of work have limited area's of expertise and thus rely on others who are capable of organising other matters".

"For Gunnes sake Vincent don't tell me you went to all this trouble just for me to tell you to hire a dock master ?".

"Mother please just hear the man out" Vincent asked .

Marrell continued His presentation by activating the display to show the station Vincent wanted her to see only it was not just a station that thing was larger than the Terracorp HQ station by a significant margin.
She was half listening to him as she realised the enormous potential of that base. Marrell finished his presentation then left leaving the display active.

"Where the hell did you get that Vincent, do you have any idea how much that thing costs".

"To answer your questions mother firstly I am the legal owner all proper and above board I did not "acquire" it shall we say, suffice to say it is mine and I want you to help me turn it into a proper home for my fleet and my people as well as an operational base for our ships this is a live feed so you can see we have a number of them now. Our biggest concern is of course security there are certain people families rather that we want to relocate for personal reasons but we also need the appropriate staff to make it a fully functional base as well as someone who can turn it into a community homes schools hospitals parkland areas every thing.
Access to the base is going to be very strictly monitored and controlled obviously you see the necessity for that ".

Claris did see the need even here she had her people watching for infiltration attempts every mizurz of the dayand night most with simple industrial espionage in mind but for Vincent the Level of security he would have to enforce needed to be much greater. She thought about it for a moment and decided That her corporation could certainly make use of such a base and as she studied the schematics she knew how she would do it the Housing and accommodation and green areas were easy enough but for Vincent he would want absolute security as far as the operational side of the complex was concerned.

Vincent could see his mother had an idea how to do it so he suggested they eat that would allow her time to put it all together she was happy enough with that and Vincent shut down the display and signalled the Maitre de he could begin service.

Vincent had paid a great deal of attention to the menu selecting the dish's he knew she liked. She put the thought of that station to the back of her mind and joined in the conversation the woman Gil was a very astute young woman and she could tell they were close how close she was not sure but that defensive look earlier had told her as lot. Claris still recalled how easily Gill had dealt with her guards and she found it difficult to believe this was the same woman. they finished there meal and retired to the lounge area but waited toil the staff had cleared the table away and left the room before they returned to the reason why they were here.

"All right Vincent it can be done and yes I will do it but for a price"

"Which is mother" he countered.

"I want to operate the base the Civil side of it at least I will relocate our headquarters to it and just use the facilities here as a regional head quarters. It would mean totally isolating this upper tier from the rest of the station and I mean totally not even an access conduit to link them.
With one exception a single lift at the station core that can only be used by a restricted number of people and it has to be monitored every sizura and Guarded. no external links to that lift in the core from the upper section of the base. I am sure you have people who can advise you what that level of security has to be better than I can.
That gives Talos corporation an operational base that given the level of security you no doubt plan to have in the system where you have this station Leaves you two complete docking levels which includes all the Capital ship berths which I assume you intend to make exclusive use of.
After that it is fairly straight forward I suggest you have your domestic and service levels here in the mid tier leaving the production and storage levels to house training facilities and service personnel accommodation and support facilities.

[Sabrina Bergin]

Vincent was impressed his mother had put all that together in less than an hour and He was more than happy that she wanted to install Talos Corporation there It would add a level of expertise that the fleet lacked.

"One other thing Vincent I have a man in mind who would suit your side of the Base as an administrative head providing you don't have some one in mind for that position as it happens he is a dear and trusted friend of mine as he was of your father, He was also instrumental in arranging the fleet to rescue your Carrier.
The only difficulty is in arranging a transport to deliver what you need the idiots have made it a policy never to use jump drives which would mean if this Base is in Zyarth you put a great deal of cargo at risk".

"I have a Transport ship mother all I need to know is where and when you want it and I assure you The Captain of that Ship has no inhibitions as regards using a Jump drive".

"Then you make things a great deal easier Vincent I would suggest I get my operations set up and running first to coordinate everything and make the necessary adaptations to the station which as this is a new build is a fairly simple process from there we can begin construction of the lower levels. Give me a month Vincent and you will not recognise the place at least on the inside.
Now as to costs I think Talos should pay for the alterations to the upper Tier I hope you will not be charging us transportation costs for what we need for that if you cover the costs of the other levels of the base I would estimate twenty to twenty five million for the initial outlay".

"Alright mother that is a lot less than I expected and I will arrange the funds whenever you want them. but first I would like to meet this man you think could work with us I have a pressing schedule so if possible".

Vincent left that hanging deliberately and Claris did not miss the fact that he was testing her She reached or her com link and made the call luckily he was on station and said he would be there within the hour.

"All right Vincent he's on his way will you see to it that he is allowed through without undue delay I have no doubt half the staff I saw on the way here are your people"

"All of them actually mother including the Maitre de and the serving staff Gill arranges my security so why don't we relax until your man gets here".

"Congratulations Gill that was a wild guess on my part by the way they had me completely fooled".

"I have to look after Vince Gill admitted he is too trusting at times I however am not. Please I do not suggest for a moment that you would allow him to be endangered but I do not know your staff at least not yet".

Claris smiled acknowledging that point, he was too trusting at times like Brin at least there was someone looking after Vincent and a very capable someone at that.

Vincent caught the subtly of the exchange both what was said and meant, so he decided now was the best time before this stranger arrived and they had to get all formal and cryptic again. "There is one thing I failed to mention earlier mom I wanted the business out of the way first Gill is also my wife".

Claris hit him and she acknowledged the fact that Gill let her do it "You Bastu I have been here two hours and only now do you tell me I have a daughter in law, I am sorry Gill he deserved that".

"Yes he did mom Gill said but its a family wedding old school you get to be there for the proper one".

[Sabrina Bergin]

At that point I knew it would work, I was a bit annoyed that my mother had hit me she had rarely done that but in this case I supposed I deserved it or at least Gill thought I did after the awkwardness of earlier though I was delighted at the way they started to get on mom had always been good with people and she wasn't trying to play Gill she seemed genuinely delighted that I had finally found some one. mom's guest arrived a short while later and was ushered in by the maître de Aron Halter actually of Alpha team though he almost had me fooled he was so into the role he was playing.

I poured the man a drink and shook his hand.

"Thanks for the rescue sir I and my people are in your debt".

He got it then I was Hallard as he knew me I would let mom take it from here see how much she trusted this man.

"Dak this is Captain Hallard who you so ably rescued along with his crew now I have to ask you to keep absolutely secret between us what we discuss here tonight, how are the fleet treating you I hear they were not entirely happy with your decision to take the Squadron to Zyarth ?" .

Admiral Drevis drained his glass and held it out for more "To be honest Claris now that the media interest has moved on I'm being side lined they loved the publicity they got at the time but are now calling my decision to act into question. I told you I might be asking you for a job sooner rather than later because of it".

"Then it is a good job you are here Captain Hallard has a position he needs to be filled and I have assured him you are the man for the job in fact as soon as he approached me as to a man capable of it I sent for you".

"Okay Captain Hallard and whilst you may feel you owe me I do not accept charity I can afford to retire right now comfortably your rescue was a good thing for the fleet so tell me about this job and I will tell you if I want it or not".

I liked the man no bull and right in my face we both sat down with the ladies and he waited for me to speak my piece.

"Dak if I may Claris said there was only one man she trusted to be able to do what I need doing a man who can maintain a military base for my company complete with ships and training facilities in order to keep everything working in a military and efficient manner he would also be responsible for the operation of a sector defence force staged at my base of operations he would be in complete charge of all station and sector operations with certain unavoidable limitations off base. Those limitations are minor I assure you and I will back you up if you make a call for operational reasons as they arise. the pay is good and I offer free accommodation and a salary commensurate with your experience".

Dak thought it over Captain Hallard was a patriot and he had not regretted the decision to help the man for a sizura and now when it was clear that his career was over effectively Claris was offering him the chance to continue to serve with a man she obviously trusted for reasons she still had not explained.

"Okay Hallard you know you have my interest, hell if I want to retire just yet so make it worth my while and I am not talking about credits or fancy accommodation's like this he indicated the room".

"Because we are making a difference Dak yes we are mercenaries but we are out there doing a job be it in the war zones or in the commonwealth we are doing what we can to stamp out those who would use this conflict for gain pirates or whoever you know our record you know that we always operate within the law and yes we make money doing it but we need that money to maintain our operations to be able to join the line and do our part".

Dak had to change his perception of Hallard at that point every thing he had said was true there were people even here in Argon home space who were using the war to make their fortunes and this man was being honest with him he knew it without question also he was fleet or had been the signs were there that marked you for life no matter where that led you.

"Okay Captain Hallard I am tempted but that is not enough you are holding some thing back and before I sign on to this deal I have to know what that is other wise I go home and retirement".

Hallard said nothing he just stood up and walked away with that woman who was also fleet he was sure of that and nodded to Claris as he did so moving far enough away to give us privacy to speak.

"Dak Captain Hallard is my son you remember Vincent I am sure Claris said looking him straight in the eye".

Then it all made sense Dak realised the look he had seen in her eyes after Split fire and then later at Zyarth.

"Oh Gunne Claris all you had to do was tell me you know I would have done anything for Brin or one of his son's why didn't you tell me ?"

"Because I didn't know for sure not till Zyarth Claris admitted my god Dak can you understand how I felt then my son had died so I thought and then I had too watch him die again if you had not helped I deceived you I know and I abused your trust do not blame my son for that Dak. Please look at the man as Captain Hallard if it makes it easier he is fighting a war out there as much as any man but he needs help and you are one of the few people in this verse that I have told my son he can trust.

Dak thought about that for the longest time looking at Vinny as he knew him when he was still a child bouncing on his fathers knee there was a lot of Brin in the man and he had grown in way's even Brin could not have imagined or hoped for.

[Sabrina Bergin]

Dak's looked to Claris then and saw how much this was costing her and that pained him he had made a promise to Brin a long time ago back in the day and now he was being offered a chance to fulfil that promise.

"Okay Vincent you got me now what ?".

"Now Dak's we talk business Claris will go through the details with you I have given her carte blanche as it were and tomorrow I need both of you aboard my carrier with no one the wiser. Claris will give you what information she can but I can assure you, you will not regret this choice" Vincent said leaving him and Claris alone.

"Oh for Gunne's sake Claris speak to me I almost begged I have just been put through a grinder in so many way's I can hardly think straight tell me I am doing the right thing please".

"Vincent is his father's son" Claris replied simply which changed nothing at all except how I felt about my decision if the boy was even half the man Brin had been but I left that there.

"So Claris you want to tell me about this job before I send in my papers and commit myself to Gunne knows what ?".

"Not the job no but I can tell you this much Brin would approve Dak".

That said it all or at least enough I left shortly afterwards looking forward to typing my resignation as I had been not dreading it but accepting it as inevitable".


"Hey mom Vince called after seeing Dak leave want to join us and talk he offered ?.

Of course I wanted to talk where did my son get of on turning my life on it's head then I recalled Carl's question in Zyarth "How do you get to do that mom to make decisions like that like its something you do every day no hesitation no doubt ". and she knew her answer had been wrong in so many way's . Oh Gunnes he was so like Brin it hurt but she hid that from him.

Gill led her to a suite beyond the dining area that was lavishly appointed but I could tell was not her style, oh boy could my son pick them or what I thought as Gill took me to one side ignoring Vincent and probing me about him very subtley of course and I am sure even if Vincent had overheard he would have been none the wiser but I watched him he trusted this woman for Gunnes sake he had married her trader style admittedly but that was enough for me it was how Brin and I had started out. So me and Gill talked for the longest time Vincent did not seem to feel excluded and I put that down not only to his maturity that perhaps life had forced on him but also the absolute trust he placed in her and that said it all for me. From that point on I decided that I wanted Gill to know me not as some high blown executive with a company with a billion credit turnover per jazura but me as a person and I think Gill saw that.
Gunne I thought to myself however did my son get so lucky.

I called it a day eventually as much as a pleasure as it was I had things to
do Vincent had also alluded to the fact he was on a timer as far as this visit was concerned.

Plus there were matters I had to take care of before I left for Zyarth I would not tolerate any one placing my son in danger.

[Sabrina Bergin]

I entered my office early before the day staff arrived still dressed as I had been just an hour earlier.

Calton I have a problem I do not know who this man is but he is a fake I had to be sure a I am sure you can understand now I do not know his motives but I know this he is a danger to Talos and I want that danger gone.

I learnt tonight that he has a base in lost order which is fortunate for us I have a lot of friends there. further that he intends to return there before 0600 tomorrow and level our friends base do not doubt his resolve in this matter Calton I do not care to discuss his motives or why he has chosen this path suffice to say I want you to jump to lost order here are the coordinates of the base we will send transports to evacuate them if necessary but if they could deal with the problem themselves it would be more manageable".

Calton studied the data pad for a moment before he acknowledged the necessity of the task the man was a maverick and if he could eliminate him as a threat he would be gaining on both sides of the fence he was walking.
He left the office and went straight to the dock where he boarded a fighter then launched and docked aboard the Tm

He ordered his selected crew to board getting rid of those who might question him then jumped for Lost order as soon as they arrived he reboarded his nova and flew towards the pirate base cunningly conceqled within the asteroid field. There was a Carrack a galleon and a brigantine in system by the north gate and he changed his course to give them the information he possessed. Too late he realised they had targeted him as the PBG fire destroyed his shield and then his ship.

The Tm arrived back in system just as Claris was enjoying breakfast she studied the report and put it to one side a shame about Calton he had been an effective aide and given time she might have been able to use him more effectively but he had got careless over time to certain that he had her fooled never knowing that she had seen him for what he was from the beginning.

That made the move to the new station even more desirable Calton had demonstrated how vulnerable she could be it was not a mistake she intended to allow to reoccur.