CHAPTER 21: CELTEST

CHAPTER 21: CELTEST

The Devastator had excellent recreational facilities and offered something for almost any taste, but the most liked recreation area was called The Village. It was a small down town area complete with shops, cafés,micro breweries, night-clubs, restaurants, Virtu-show halls and theatres. The sky appeared real with moving clouds and a warm yellow sun. It would even rain or snow once in a while. The Village centered on a park with grass, trees, flower patches and narrow duro-crete walking paths. The park featured picnic areas, offered a wide variety of out-door sport facilities and had a large lake in the middle for swimming and paddling around in small boats. We had settled down at one of the picnic areas next to a big oak tree, and close to the shore of the lake. Elfi wore a golden bathing suit that was so tight it appeared as if it was painted to her body. Wetmouth had on a pink bikini, that revealed her perfectly curved body and her top barley covered a pair of firm looking breasts. The French cut bottom of her bikini made her lissome legs appear even longer than they were. Mao, Shaka and I wore black swimming trunks. Hans was wearing a hideous patterned shirt that would have been big enough to serve as a tent for the rest of us to a pair of tan colored shorts, revealing his massive calves to the world. The Saturnian was standing at a BBQ grill and the smoke he produced smelled deliciously of seared meat. Krabbel only wore uniform when on duty was all his hairy self and hung from the tree on an almost invisible string of spider silk and holding four ice cream cones at the same time. Elfi just returned from a swim was a sight to see as she took of the bathing cap, shook loose her precious shimmering hair and begun to dry her legs with a fluffy towel. Circuit did not wear anything, but then he did not have anything that needed to be hidden. He was lying on his towel and then propped himself up and looked over the lake. "I wish I could swim. It looks like a lot of fun." Har Hi was the only one of us who was completely dressed and he wore his usual red Dai leathers. He grunted. "Swimming isn't fun." I turned to Circuit and had to shield my eyes as his chrome metal body reflected the sun like a mirror and asked. "Why don't you try it?" "Because I am too dense. I don't float, no matter how much I paddle. I usually walk along the bottom." Mao who had disappeared for a while came back with a colorful box and he hollered. "They made it. It's done! Oh I love to see your face Krabbel." Elfi looked interested and teased the Arachnoid saying." Krabbel does not have a face, just lots of eyes and fangs." "I do have a face and a very handsome one if I might add. If I wanted too, I could be on the cover of magazines." Elfi smiled. "Really?" "Oh yes only last year a Terran company that makes some sort of Insect killer wanted me for their commercials. And there was this magazine called Goosebumps who offered me to appear on a title page, why they wanted me to carry a naked woman in my fangs I could not say." We all laughed as we all knew Krabbel's brand of humor. He delivered his jokes with a dead serious tone in his voice, but only halfway through then he barely was able to suppress his laughter. I realized how well I was able to read the emotions of a being that by all accounts should have been terrifying. Mao handed the box to Krabbel. "Here you go, happy Nuflug Day to you." Mao stripped off his shirt and revealed his tattoos that covered most of his right arm and right torso. Still talking to Krabbel he added. "And your mother told me to make sure you brush your chelicerae and not skip it as usual. She expects you to call if you can and wanted you to know that your dad and she are very proud of you." Krabbel took the package and started to unwrap it, while he was doing it I asked Mao. "You know Krabbel's mother?" He nodded. "Oh sure, I spend some time with Krabbel on Archa before we joined the Academy together. I have been there again after the second year. I tell you those Archas do not believe in ladders or stairs anywhere." We laughed and Krabbel managed to tear the box open and held a strange orange plastic device with dark lenses into the sun. "What is that?" Elfi asked. Krabbel put it on his head and said with a happy tone. "Those are sun-gasses of course. These are the first Arachnoid sunglasses. Circuit designed them and Mao and I are going to mass-produce them and become rich one day." "Sun glasses?" Was all I could say. "Have you ever seen a Terran without sunglasses? " Mao asked. If you see sunglasses he or she is from the Sol system. If you want to be on top of what is in fashion you got to follow the Terran example." I shrugged. "Shaka doesn't wear them and he is from Earth." Shaka heard his name and sat up, pointing at a pair of dark glasses he had shoved into his hair. "Because you hardly ever see me out of Uniform, I got sunglasses right here." Instead of lying back down, Shaka looked towards Mao and asked "How is it on Archa?" Mao plopped himself down right next to Elfi and blinked into the sun. "They have the most amazing cities you'll ever see. They are almost completely hidden in the trees. You don't even know you are in a big city, while you stand in the middle of one. At least as long as you don't look up. Their architecture is hard to describe, but their houses look basically like cocoons made of shiny metals and glass. But no stairs I tell you, no ladders. They do have elevators to ride up those gigantic trees, but not for the faint of heart. Little platforms without any railings or anything else to hold onto and then they shoot up and down at great speed some reaching a mile high." Krabbel raised his first leg pair. "We have plenty of limbs to hold on, so we never invented railings." Mao continued. "The Archas are the friendliest folks you could ever meet. Very competitive lot with lots of sports venues and they can be quite aggressive when competing; they are predators or have evolved from predators after all. What they call Prey Gardens and goes for local restaurants isn't for the squeamish either, but they started to have normal restaurants where they serve the food already killed." "We are getting civilized I tell you." Krabbel added. "We recently even decided that killing of your sac siblings is perhaps a thing we should change." "You kill your own kind?" Elfi asked. Krabbel made a specific leg move that meant the same as when a human was nodding. "You see a healthy female can lay 2000 eggs or more and ever since we had our industrial revolution we don't have any natural enemies anymore. We never had any wars among ourselves like the Terrans so if we let all eggs mature it would get crowded very fast. Besides it is an instinctive process when you are very little. I have no recollection how many sac siblings I killed while I crawled to the sac mouth. This way only one, two or sometimes three siblings survive. Mothers made sure it would not be more and ate the rest. About five or ten years ago we started using fertility control drugs so females produce only two or three eggs in the first place and let them mature." We all listened quite fascinated to Krabbel's account. It was completely different to hear something like this from a friend than absorbing it during an Exobiology lesson. Krabbel was on a roll and he continued to tell us about Archa. He said. "It was until about hundred years when ago females often killed their male partners at the height of sexual ecstasy and for a male that was the only way to go and the one thing he lived for. Nowadays it happens very rarely and males live long enough to enter political careers." He pointed at himself as he said. "We look very much like spiders of Terra and Arachnoids of other worlds other worlds and we do have somewhat similar behavior patterns, but we are also very different. See my four upper leg pairs developed claws and on each is an opposing claw or finger if you would, we can manipulate objects much like the human hand can, we developed a language and writing and our digestive tract has evolved so we can now consume more solid foods and not just suck liquefied prey." "I think I would like to see Archa one day." I said. "Oh I would love to show you all around. My mom would be so happy to have you for company." Hans came over holding a huge tray piled with steaks, burgers and hot dogs. "Go get it while their hot, there is more coming." "Who you cooking for, the entire ship crew?" Har-Hi asked. Hans shrugged and looked at the platter. "Mostly from me and Krabbel of course but Mao can eat a lot too. So there won't be much left if we start eating, you better get it first." We ate and Krabbel said between two bites. "I really like the idea of fried food. We started cook some food now for over a thousand years but frying and roasting is completely new to us." Elfi nibbled at her burger. "How is your home planet Mao?" "Actually not so very different from the planet we just came from, at least climate wise. We have swamps, lots of jungles and rivers. But we do have oceans and many islands too. When my ancestors left Earth they wanted a world as close to their native home as possible and found it on a planet we call Guayas. Native tribes from Terran regions emigrated to Guayas to be left alone and live the traditional way." Mao looked ashamed. "Almost everyone lives basically in stone age conditions. Almost no tech, lots of superstitions and all that." He looked to the ground. "I grew up in a palm leaf thatched hut mad with mud walls and no doors." "Are you ashamed of that?" Wetty asked with surprise in her voice. "Not among you, but others have looked down on me because of that and I am actually ashamed of my own thoughts and feelings when I returned after my first academy year, it was so small and dirty and so primitive in my eyes." Then he looked up and smiled. "I still would like to take you all to meet my Peppy and Mr. Roundtree my Union School teacher. Krabbel was there and he was the first non human Alien anyone alive ever saw. We did get invaded by the Nogoll, but that was long ago.They really liked Krabbel, especially the kids." Har-Hi used one of his razor sharp knifes to slice thins trips of his steak and he looked at Wetmouth. "Don't answer if you don't want too but I always wondered how a Sojonit ended up in the Navy." She sighed under her ever present mask. "That is a long story." She looked at Mao and put her slender hand on his knee. "If anyone should be ashamed of her upbringing it should be me." She sighed again and said to Har Hi. "No I don't mind and I am going to tell you the short version. I don't know if you all know about Sin 4. It is the most lawless hellhole in the entire Galaxy. Theft, murder and any horrible crime you can imagine happen at every hour, every minute and everywhere. Criminal cartels ruled by big families' control our world with an iron fist, but only as far as their own interests go. There is a strict caste system enforced by whoever has the most firepower. The lowest class the Skath live in filth and conditions you would not believe possible. My mother was a Skath and very sick. She put me on a little boat and told me to make my way to the Sojonit Island. I saw her collapse on the shore and torn apart by Heghoor scavengers. I somehow made it and was found on the steps of the Sojonit temple. My mother did the best she could." "The best she could," gasped Elfi,"abandoning her child?" "You don't understand Elfi. Sin 4 is not a nice place like your palace or any other place you've ever seen. Do you know what real hunger is? Being hungry for most of your life, never having enough to eat and when you eat the food is filthy and stinks. Yet you have to fight to the death to keep it. Skath have no rights, no possessions, they are slaughtered for food, sold for cheap slaves, pressed into hard labor whenever needed, kicked and beaten all day long. If there is a hell, Elfi then the Skath slums of Sin 4 are it. Mothers sell their kids for slaves and yes they sell them for meat. Nothing is sacred and naked survival on the most primitive brutal level is all there is." Even I could not help but looked shocked at her. She continued with a dry voice. "Sin 4 is populated by beings from all over the Galaxy and human meat is just another commodity. So yes I think my mother did the best she could. It was a feat no less to organize the shipping crate that served me as a boat. The Sojonit temple is on an island and not easily accessible for Skath. There, Mother Superior raised me and I never had to suffer hunger or thirst from then on. While I was trained like any other Sojonit, she saw my gift and made me wear the veil of abstinence early on and gave me all the help to study knowledge. But the temple, Sin 4 is limited very limited, they have more bordellos and whore houses, casinos and amusement of the worst kind than anywhere else in the Galaxy but there are no schools, no universities. Sojonites travel everywhere where customers can be found that pay for sexual pleasures. Mother Superior arranged for me to leave Sin 4 and reach Union space. I had no money, I was not a citizen and found out I was too young to apply for anything. I was very lucky then and was adopted by a very kind man and one thing led to the other and I first joined the Science Corps but I wanted to become a Science Officer aboard a ship and that means I have to complete the Academy and become an officer." She spread her hands. "This is how I ended up in the Fleet." Elfi hugged her and while she did she cried and tears pearled down her cheeks. "I am so sorry Wetmouth. I promise you have a home on Saran anytime as my sister." Our conversation was interrupted by a voice saying. "Those burgers smell mighty good." I turned to see, it was Admiral Stahl and he was carrying a big cardboard box. He was out of uniform and wore the unmarked black jumpsuit, the same kind I had seen him wear the first time I met him. I jumped up, but he said. "Relax, kids I am out of uniform and so are you. I came to keep my promise to Mr. Krabbel. I brought some real ice cream made from real milk."Krabbel zipped to the ground and came over in his silent fast way. Stahl grinned and said. "Why don't you trade me this ice cream for a burger?" Krabbel took the box. "You got a deal. Hurry guys get the Admiral some meat." Stahl sat down just as if was one of us and took a plate from Hans. Har Hi handed him a bottle of soda and Krabbel shrieked. "Oh by the sac of grandmother, that's the best kind there is, my favorite, Chocolate dipped soft serve. How did you know, Sir?" "I am immortal, my eight legged friend I am supposed to be wise beyond human understanding and know everything." Stahl chuckled while he said that. "Truth to be told, I am not as wise as I wish to be and I am far from knowing everything, so I simply asked Mr. Mao." He dug into his steak and praised Hans cooking. "Oh just right, there isn't anything much better than a flame broiled steak done just right. This is my favorite food" "You should try the Cattle Baron in Topeka on Wichita planet." I said." No place serves a better steak." He raised one eyebrow. "Ah yes, you have been to Wichita. The planet used to have a mystery too, before you've been there." I promised the others to tell them later what he meant and the Admiral said. "You are right, Eric. There is no place that serves better steaks, I have been there. However I think Mr. Neugruber's steaks are a close second." Hans looked very proud and forked another one on the plate of the Immortal. Stahl chewed and pointed his fork at my holster. "I see you carry the old Springfield Colt." "That old piece saved my life and I am glad I developed this habit." He made me tell the incident while he finished his steak. Har Hi took cigars out of his leg pocket, but the Admiral declined and preferred one of Shaka's cigarettes. Then he leaned back and gave us all a long look. "It is not just steaks an ice cream that brought me here." He took a sip of his soda. "I really enjoyed your company, I must confess. I feel things I haven't felt in quite a while looking at you princess and having a legendary Sojonit sister in a bikini there as well make me realize I am still just a man and human after all, It is a good realization." He sighed. "I also came to tell you that you are most likely going to leave the ship tomorrow." Wetmouth covered her bare legs with a towel more instinctively than conscious and said. "Sir we still have six month to go before we hopefully graduate. Would you be willing to inform us where we have erred or not met expectations?" "You did not do anything wrong and you exceeded expectations in every way, I don't think this ship ever had such an extraordinary group as yours. "That is why Captain Harris wants you to go to Newport and compete with other senior cadets for the Reagan trophy." He crushed his cigarette. "I am sure Wetmouth knows what I am taking about but let me explain anyway. There is not just one Naval Academy; there are many branches all over  Union space. We recently opened one across the Bridge in the Andromeda Galaxy and another will open its doors for new recruits on the far end of the LMC later this year." He pointed at me. "Mr. Olafson and her majesty the princess were tested, evaluated and accepted at the Academy HQ on Arsenal II. If my memory serves me right, you Mr. Hi and your Royal Highness Mr. Shaka did the same at Annapolis Earth." They both nodded in agreement. The immortal Admiral continued. "This should illustrate the point I am trying to make, there are several branches, but there is one you may or may not have heard off; it is the Naval Academy College on Newport. Officially designated Advanced Officer training facility Newport, but generally referred to as Newport Academy and it is an advanced school where the best Cadets and Midshipmen are sent to complete their officers training." I rolled my eyes. "I have heard of it alright and met a few who studied there as well." "Yes you have, Commander Letsgo told me about your adventure." Stahl nodded his head and motioned me to tell the others about my Duel I fought against the fencing instructor of Newport. Har Hi laughed. "You really do get mixed up in situations more than others so it appears." Stahl lost much of his stern, immortal looks as he suddenly grinned widely and appeared very human. "That is putting it mildly and he left out the part of the story were he stripped poor Master Milieu naked in front of everyone. Frankly part of the reason I am sitting here with you is because in all my long life I have not met quite a group like yours, even though I was partially responsible for all of you ending up on the Devi and on the same team." He became serious again and lost most of his smile but some of it kept lingering in the corner of his grey eyes. "Anyway back to what I am trying to explain to you. Every four years there is a traditional challenge called the Newport Challenge, they invite senior teams from all over the Fleet to Newport for a competition. A test of all skills and knowledge future Officers supposed to have and the winning team gets the Reagan Trophy, an ugly metal bowl and the bragging rights to be the very best. The award is a team prize and goes to the ship or academy of the winning team." No one of us wanted to interrupt him, except for Krabbel who tried to manage to eat his fifth, now melting ice cream cone without dripping to much of it on Mao's back who more or less sat right below the spider. Krabbel whispered a shy. "Sorry." That caused Stahl to interrupt his narration to toss him a napkin and then while he tried to fight a new grin coming over his lips he went on. "They do that more or less to proof to everyone just how good they are at Newport and for the last 30 years only Newport won the trophy. I don't like Newport and between you and me I don't like Admiral Dent who runs the College. Your former special friend Lt. Clusen was a graduate of Newport and that should illustrate best how they act. I don't like this kind of elite breeding. I prefer earned excellence while doing a real job over this Ivy League, ivory tower elite attitude they indoctrinate their graduates with. I didn't like it when I was a Cadet so long ago at Quantico and had to deal with holier than thou cadets from a place called West Point and I don't like it now. "But they produce results and no one seems to be able to beat them. Captain Harris was kicked out of Newport and told he would never amount to anything. So it won't surprise you when I tell you he has an even greater dislike for that place. It was him who basically begged me to agree to send you to Newport this year, represent the Devi." He raised both his hands. "Now in reflection of your recent ordeal on Quagmire Bog, I refused to order you there and your participation is voluntary. I won't respect you any less if you refuse or if you go and not win, I want to make this perfectly clear, but I came here like this to ask you this as a personal favor and not make it an order." We got to our feet and I said."Of course we go. We will be honored to represent the Devi and do our best, Sir." He smiled warmly and there was open affection and a little pride in his eyes as he looked at each of us."The tests are in every field of study you have already prepared and excelled in and then culminates in a final challenge that is different every year. However this time Admiral Elligott, several Academy commandants and I will personally supervise to make sure there won't be any Clusen shenanigans going on if you know what I mean." He leaned forward. "What I say now is completely of the record and you must keep that for yourself, because I have a feeling Admiral Dent will do and act in similar ways and I hope you competing will draw him out and make a mistake. A mistake I can use to end his career and perhaps close that darn Academy." Mao had forgotten to eat. "Why don't you simply kick Dent out, if you think that way? You are Admiral Stahl, almost as powerful as God when it comes to all things Navy." "I explained the same thing to Captain Harris not too long ago. It is because of exactly that reason, because of what I am. I cannot abuse my power and do things just because I can. That would make me as bad as Admiral Swybin or even worse. I must and I will live by our rules till the day I die. I do have lots of power as you say and if I let it corrupt myself, even an iota I have lost everything I worked for all my life. Like you I live by our rules and stick to them." Mao leaned forward." You know Admiral you're alright for an immortal."

--""--

The next day we had packed our bags once more and were ready for departure. Lt. Merkus had all the other remaining Midshipmen assembled and wished us luck, then to our surprise and without being told the other Midshipmen cheered and chanted:" Go O-Team! Go kick Newport Ass!" Captain Harris intercepted us at the shuttle deck from where we supposed to take a long range shuttle. He shook his head. "Oh no, you are not going like this to Newport, no not like this! My team, the team of the Devi in a measly shuttle, not on my watch!" He kept saying things like that apparently more to himself than to us and motioned us to follow him. Captain Harris led us on a slide way and only now he actually addressed us at least that what I thought. He said. "This is personal, even after all those years I am surprised just how much this arrogant bastard and his nose in the air know-it-alls bother me, but now I am sending the Olafson Gang." He looked at us and grinned. "If you are only half as good as you were until now, they are in for a surprise." I was not sure what to say to that but I tried. "Sir, I can only promise we will do our best." "I know that Mr. Olafson and that is all I ask. This is the Devi, the pride of the union and you are representing it. I can't let you go in a shuttle and looking like that." Harris didn't say much more and led us into a quiet almost deserted area of the 25th deck which was the largest deck and housed most of the Devastators larger auxiliary ships, such as destroyers, corvettes and the Thor Gun boats. We ended our little odyssey before a massive door and he had to use his Captain Authority code to open it. A big red sign flashed the words."Restricted Area." After we passed through that door into a featureless ante room, he pointed at an Auto-dresser in the corner. "All of you step in that thing and then follow through that airlock and meet me in the hangar behind. The Auto Dresser is already dialed in." The Auto Dresser changed our standard uniforms into sleek black belted combinations complete with the latest SI Hypra Suntorch blasters in low sling hip holsters, black leather jackets sporting the Devastator flag ship logo on the right arm. Har-Hi and my jacket also had the Wolfcraft squadron patches. Black duckbill caps with the words USS Devastator embroidered in golden thread on its front. Those caps were usually issued only to long serving officers and were the envy of all military and many civilians alike. They were an ancient traditional head gear hailing back to the seagoing navy of planet Earth over 3000 years ago. I knew that because Wetmouth explained the significance to us. The boots where polished pseudo leather with the latest all terrain soles also normally only allowed to be worn by officers of Full lieutenant or higher. I checked for the .45 and made sure it was where it belonged. Har Hi did the same with his knifes and swords. Wetmouth tugged on her wig and mask as she left the dresser and adjusted the duck bill cap. Decked out like that we all went through the air lock. Harris stood next to a brand new Barracuda Class destroyer; it still sported the NX hull designation for an experimental craft. He made us stand in attention and personally checked each of us, adjusted little things on our new uniforms and finally stepped back with an approving nod. "I want them to know that you come from the Devastator and you won't arrive in a lame D12 shuttle. Rank has its privileges and I use it to authorize that ADCAP-Barracuda Destroyer for you, it is the newest and fastest of its class and only a few have been issued so far. It will show them at Newport that I trust my senior midshipmen with a ship of their own." He gestured to the lowered boarding ramp underneath the belly of the sleek and fast looking ship. "Mr. Olafson at least temporary this is your first real command. Please bring her back in one piece if you can." The prospect of my own ship even for a brief time was like a rush to me. "Bring her back in one piece, Aye Sir!" "She is fully stocked and armed and coded to you. Her stores are packed with munitions and supplies; the tanks are full. You have an excellent navigator in your little crew, so find your way to Newport and be there in ten days." Krabbel shrieked. "I just realized he means me. I am a good Navigator. Please Eric let me be the Navigator." Captain Harris pointed his flat hand to the Barracuda. "Get your show on the road Mr. Olafson and your ship out of my hangar." This Barracuda had an elongated flattened cylinder with four oversized ISAH pods attached to its aft. The hull tapered to a flat chisel bow just below the bridge section. It was 154 meters long and 44 meters wide at the back and only twelve meters wide at its nose. Even sitting on its landing gear it looked fast. It had accommodations for a crew of 200 plus it had room for 60 marines; was heavily armed and shielded all in all a prime example of the latest Union Fleet Mil-tech. The small bridge had all the usual duty stations but much closer together. I stood there for a long moment brushed my hand over the Command seat and a melodic voice chirped. "This is ADCAP Barracuda in Type IV configuration. Command officer Olafson, Eric recognized. Welcome aboard Captain, all systems are in standby mode and fully operational." I did not want to be vane, but I could not help myself wishing the machine would say that just one more time. I cleared my throat and said. "Take your stations and Mr. Shaka would you mind to take her out?" "The only thing I would mind right now is dying and miss the chance to do just that, Captain." He sat down behind the control with a deep sigh of pleasure. "Mr. Krabbel plot us a course to Newport." He scurried to his seat and his arms flew over the controls. "Plotted and on the board." "Mr. Circuit, Engine status?" Circuit stood by the engineering console and it was as if he had managed to grow a few inches. "My engines are primed on full standby and ready." "Ms. Elfiatra request launch permission." "Completing communications right now, Sir, we are cleared for launch. Hangar evacuated and hangar doors are opening." Shaka flew a tight loop around the Devastators pole axis and accelerated almost reaching redline values of the engine readout and we slipped into quasi space and went superluminal. He lifted the large Virtu helmet and he smiled elated. "This fish is fast." "Don't fly to fast, my friend. We have ten days and I would like us to arrive not a minute sooner." Then I got up from the command seat and said. "Har Hi you got the Conn." He slipped into the Command chair while I went to the door. "Where are you going?" asked Wetmouth sitting at the small science station. I couldn't help it but grin from ear to ear. "I am going to check out the Captain's quarters and make my first official log book entry." She too smiled behind her mask. "Aye Captain."

The Barracuda was like a silver flicker fish to the biggest Tyranno when compared to the Devastator but it was still a full sized Destroyer. It had a Galley, Crew and Officers Mess, Sick bay, Even a small lab and science department, and an array of weapons. A Destroyers role in modern space warfare was to engage enemy carriers and gun boats, attack space fortifications and support capital ships with protection against fighters, bombers and enemy Destroyers. The Captain's quarters were small and everything had a sterile and factory new look. On a small book shelf behind the captain's desk, the five books that where standard in any captain's room aboard any Union ship: The Bible (or other religious book), Trafalgar, Captain Uhru's Memories, Moby Dick and the Adventures of Captain Herron (arguably the most famous Captain of Union fleet history) On the work desk was large leather bound paper book and a holder with an old fashioned writing pen. It was a sacred tradition on all Terran ships to keep a handwritten log, a tradition that had been extended to the Union Navy after its official formation. Of course the computronic would record every word spoken on the bridge and keep every bit of sensor data, but this handwritten record was tradition and it was part of  every captain's duty to write in it every day. The log books of every ship that ever went to the stars were kept in a special archive on Earth as a testimony to man's conquest of space. Above the table was a small visual sensor that would record my writing and add it to the main log. In case of a catastrophic event all the Computronics recordings along with a copy of the log book records would be launched in a small capsule and travel to Earth. I opened the book and turned to the first page and wrote my first log entry. I recorded the names of the crew and the purpose of our journey. To me it was a very solemn and special moment. Just as I finished my first entry, the Alarm sounded and Har Hi's voice came over the intercom. Captain to the bridge and all hands battle stations" The Captain's quarters were on the same deck as the Bridge and it took me only a few moments to reach it. Har Hi got up from the seat. "Captain, we are receiving a distress beacon signal from the USS Paracelsus. It appears we are the closest Union ship." I sat down. "What is the nature of the distress call?" Elfi turned. "Automated beacon, no response to hails." "How far is the Paracelsus from our current flight path?" "3.5 light years, Captain." Mao responded. "Wetmouth coordinate with Mao and give me a sensor report. Shaka come to a full stop. Elfi contact Fleet Command." Wetmouth sat next to Mao and dedicated her side of the Console to science. She then reported. "Preliminary sensor analysis complete. We are detecting a large mass close to the Paracelsus. Sensor data is inconclusive but it appears to be a Wanderer." "I encountered something like this before, a free floating asteroid?" "Yes, a celestial object not bound to a star system but wandering in intergalactic space, there are many known dark planets, asteroids, dust clouds, moons, large ice chunks that have been catapulted out of their original system by a collision or similar event. The object we believe is near the Paracelsus is some sort of rock formation, a very large asteroid or planetoid most likely." Elfi said. "I got Fleet Command for you, Sir." She opened the connection and I said. "This is Midshipman Olafson currently in command of the Devastator Auxiliary Ship 45-12, Barracuda Class Destroyer. We are en route to the Dover System and received an automated distress call from the USS Paracelsus 3.5 Light years from our current position. Our sensors picking up a large rock mass in its vicinity, I am requesting permission to investigate." On the main-screen a white haired man appeared. "This is Commodore King. Sector command, we received your transmission and verify receiving the distress call as well. The situation map shows you are indeed the closest ship. You have permission to proceed with your investigation. The USS Paracelsus is an unarmed Hospital ship under command of Captain Perma. The Paracelsus was on its way to Colony Planet Gregory to assist in a disease outbreak of epidemic scale. Proceed with caution and record all actions. Keep us informed. We send additional units to assist." I acknowledged and said: "Mao full shields. Krabbel set a course. Shaka get us there but slowly and drop out of Quasi at least 30 light minutes away. Mao and Wetmouth you keep your eyes on those sensors. Hans stand by for Damage control." The Paracelsus hung dead in space. It was a new Uni design ship, wedge shaped but white instead of the regular navy gray. The Wanderer turned out to be a rugged shaped chunk of rock and ice of roughly 2000 kilometers diameter. I leaned forward. "Energy or life form readings?" "I am reading Neuro-electric impulses of an estimated 85 life forms aboard the Paracelsus. The ship is on emergency battery power only. The antimatter cores are gone. They ejected their containment coil and all the AM." "Any battle damage?" I asked. Mao adjusted the visual sensors of his weapon sights. "We're still too far out for the visual sensor to pick out details. But I am not detecting any debris." I didn't like the situation one bit. There was something that stopped a state of the art starship, forty times bigger than our Barracuda Destroyer. True the Hospital ship had no offensive weaponry, but its shields where equal to a battle ship. As far as I knew there was nothing so deep in Union space that could attack and overwhelm such a ship. Hospital ships where designed with strong shields and engines so they could survive an attack and flee.  The Paracelsus should have survived any initial attack and then high tail away from any aggressor and use GalNet to call for help. It also bothered me that it happened in deep space. According to Captain K'Tngnk it was very unlikely to run into trouble in deep space. Yet this was the second time I responded to a distress call aboard a relative small space craft approaching a Union ship near a rock in space. The Seneca had been attacked by a disguised Kermac Raider, but that was much closer to Kermac space. We were far from any potential hostile civilization, but then huge animals migrated through a cave tunnel from one planet to another, thousands of light years apart without anyone inside Union space detecting it. While I was musing and contemplating our next steps I was looking over the technical readouts of that Hospital ship. "Hold our position, Shaka. Don't let us drift any closer. Wetmouth please launch a probe and have it scan that rock and the ship closer up. Mao activate all weapons and load the sniper cannon with 5k loads." "Probe launched." Wetmouth said. "Weapons active, Sniper cannon loaded." Came the response from Mao. Otherwise it was very quiet on the bridge. I was on the edge of my seat now watching like the others the telemetry of the probe came in and displayed on our mains screen. Then a sudden flash from the Asteroid surface and the probe no longer transmitted. Wetmouth reported with calm voice:"There is now a detectable Energy source on the surface of the Wanderer. Energy signature is clearly alien, multi dimensional and strong. "Mao target that source and fire!" The Barracuda had two Translocator sniper cannons. Small load Translocator cannons designed for long range precision shots. Our long range visuals where at maximum and we saw the bright energy bubble expanding where the 5 kilo Antimatter bomb exploded. Mao reported. "Captain I am now detecting a small vessel detaching from the surface. Mass and size calculation makes it just a little bigger than a Wolfcraft, but the energy signature is 100 times that of a Wolfcraft. Energy signatures are transdim in character and alien." Wetmouth immediately added. "Object is shielded and shields are similar to our Transdim shields as our sensors are unable to penetrate past them and our Translocator bombs cannot penetrate those shields." Mao followed again. "Whatever it is, it is on an intercept course and it is making a run for us." The Barracuda shuddered just as Mao completed his sentence. I was almost lifted out of my seat, but the emergency restraints activated and pulled me back. Har Hi's said:"Direct hit of unknown Energy weapon. Primary shields at 50 percent. Another hit like this and we are down to secondary shields." I switched my chair to battle mode and said while the dome shaped Omni-sight helmet lowered around me. "Alright, whoever this is wants' to play rough. Let's show them what a Barracuda can do." "Shaka go into full Virtu Helm, evasive action. Elfi report our situation to Fleet Command. Mao switch to Graviton bombs and place dual loads to each side, as soon as you sense their shield weakening fire Translocator bombs at their drive section! Simultaneous launch Loki torpedoes in proximity fuse mode." The Barracuda shuddered again. Lights flickered, but did not go out. Circuit had left the bridge and went to engineering. His symbol blinked and I activated his channel with an eye-blink. He said. "Primary shield projectors are completely destroyed. Secondary Shields holding at 40 percent for now." Har Hi reported:"Alien ship intercepted Loki Torpedoes with counter measures of sort, they went dead and did no damage." We were hit again, this time the lights didn't come back on, but the consoles still worked. Circuit reported. "Secondary shields at 15 percent" I acknowledged and said as calm as I could. "Shaka, micro jump behind that alien ship, overwrite jump safety. Mao stand by on FTL projectors and Loki Torpedoes as soon as we come out of Quasi I want you to fire point blank. Circuit put all energy you got in our forward shields as soon as Mao fires!." The Barracuda was designed to take a pounding and all systems where at least triple redundant, my damage board showed me that this was the reason we were still alive. Shaka proved he was one hell of a helmsman. He executed a micro jump with computronic precision, Mao fired as we saw our attacker for the first time close up. It was a small ship, disc shaped, almost looking like a miniature version of the Devastator. The similarities where so great that one could think they came from the same designer. Our FTL projectors fired, at the same time Mao laid two Grav bombs on each side of the vessel and two Loki torpedoes with Exo loads launched and connected!. Shaka executed the second part of the micro jump but not before our secondary shields collapsed from the energy overload of two Exoload explosions. The last layer of shields was all we had left and it was no longer at 100 percent. We re-entered Planck space and witnessed the alien ship emerging from the energy cloud apparently undamaged, but this time its shields flickered and were clearly damaged. "Mao now, Microloads salvo tact, into their drive section, FIRE!" Mao fired manually as the fire control automatics were down. The aft section of the alien ship was ripped apart and the rest drifted in space. "Wetmouth reported. "Captain, sensors indicate the alien ship is without shields and maneuver power and there is one life form aboard. I also detect repair activity!." What did it take to defeat that thing? It was clearly more advanced than anything the Union had, and it was only Wolfcraft sized. What if there was something much bigger? "Shaka get us close enough for Main Translocator. Mao Place a full load in that drive section." Mao's shot exploded a micro second before the shields of the alien came back on. This time everything but the cockpit section of the alien ship was completely destroyed. With one eye on our own damage control read out I blinked a fire order to Mao. "Micro loads into secondary energy sources." Four more explosions crippled the alien ship and reduced it to a burning wreck. "Captain I am still reading the life form." "Tech stop and Paralysator full intensity." Wetmouth didn't take the eyes of her scanners. "Captain this is incredible. The ship over there is destroyed and disabled to over 80 percent and I can detect molecular manipulation and energy to matter replication. The ship is repairing itself. Whatever this is Captain it is at least Techlevel 11." "Can you localize the energy sources?""Yes Captain. There are 200 of them." "Mao fire till that thing is destroyed completely and utterly destroyed." The Cockpit section of the Alien ship detached itself as Mao kept firing, but Mao was on the ball and he send a Gravo bomb into the path of the cockpit. It was shielded but unable to evade and the Gravitation bomb pulled it into its Grav center and depleted its shields. I felt as if I was fighting a mythical dragon that kept re-growing heads, a smaller object emerged from the cockpit. It was a humanoid shape in a space suit. It approached our ship! I didn't want to fire on a being in a space suit, but it could perhaps re-grow an entire ship. "Mao target that being and fire." The Alien ship was gone; Mao's gravitation and anti matter bombs had reduced it to atomic dust and dissipating energy. We were hit once again with a powerful weapon beam and it came from the suited being, just before Mao could place a Gravo bomb close enough to the small target. The suited beings last shot had penetrated our shields and hit portside, but as effective its weapon was against our shields it did only superficial damage to the molecular compacted Ultronit armor. Shaka's evasive flying was the main reason we were still in one piece. Wetmouth looked over her readouts. "Alien Suit is damaged, shields down. I can read humanoid life signs." Wetmouth reported. "Hit it with Paralysator and Tech Stop. Maybe we can capture that alien and see what they are and find out if there are any more of them." "Hans and Har Hi, I hate to ask, but you need to get into Quasimodos and out there as fast as you can and cut whoever it is out of what is left of that suit and place it in Stasis." "Aye Captain." I said. "Wetmouth launch another probe and see if there are any more surprises around that Asteroid." "I am on it." "Circuit, Damage report please." Wetmouth's detailed scan of the asteroid revealed no other energy signatures. Circuit was busy fixing our shield projectors. The Barracuda was still space worthy, but we had depleted of much of our ammunition. Several systems were damaged but Circuit was confident he could repair it within two or three days, Mao went to assist him. Har Hi and Hans had recovered the alien being and they had to completely destroy the suit completely as it too began to repair itself. The alien being, to our surprise was a human looking female. Wetmouth had her in sickbay and examined our prisoner. I ordered Shaka to approach the Paracelsus and now we could see that the hospital ship did sustain damage, all four ISAH pods were gone and there was a hole in the engineering section where the energy producing antimatter reactors had been located. Our scans confirmed all six of the energy reactors were missing. I asked Har Hi to take the Conn and keep watch over both the Paracelsus and the planetoid and then made my way to Sickbay to inspect the Alien. Hans had activated two Cerberus robots to stand guard, just in case. Our sickbay was small but state of the art and Wetmouth, even though she wasn't a designated Medic, had the knowledge of a MD and was a Xeno biology expert. She stood next to a diagnostic table on which the restrained naked woman was lying. She looked human, had short black hair and appeared to be in overall good condition, she was very thin and her skin had an unhealthy ashen shade. Wetmouth said to me as she saw me approaching. "We almost took a Trojan Horse aboard." "A Trojan Horse?" "An ancient legend of Earth, where the Greek, a Terran native tribe overcame another Terran tribe, the Trojans by giving them wooden Horse as a present; inside the Horse were soldiers and the Trojans pulled the trophy inside their city unaware of its hidden cargo, the Soldiers hidden inside the horse then opened the gates of the City and thus caused the doom of that city." She pointed at the Alien. "She was loaded with very advanced nanites ready to spread out throughout our ship and transform it into whatever she needs." I felt suddenly sick and swallowed. "Where are those Nanites now?" "Thanks to Circuit we were able to contain and destroy them. He can see nanites and released his brand of battle nanites and destroyed the alien ones." "Any chance that there are more inside her or that you missed any?" "Circuit says no and I did a details molecular scan. She is full of Medic Nanites of ours now, trying to repair her cells and save her life." "She doesn't appear to be sick or wounded." I said. Wetmouth looked at me. "Eric, that woman is human, while her DNA isn't Terran, Saran or Pan Saran. It is similar to all. Like all Humanoid species we encountered so far, she shares many of our traits. If my analysis and diagnostics are correct, that lady is over 1 million years old and her cells are failing. My guess is she was in some sort of stasis or suspended animation and way longer than anticipated. The reanimation process was either interrupted or unable to restore her." Just then the woman blinked and opened her eyes. She tried to move but the physical restraints and the contour force field made that impossible. Then she said something and it sounded angry and demanding, but whatever she said was in a language I did not understand. The Computronic beeped and said: Language not on file. Translation sequence started." The Computronic spoke directly to the Alien in single phrases and the Alien woman responded. After about eight minutes, Wetmouth spoke in the same alien language to the Woman and listened to her response. The Computronic beeped again and said:"Translation process sufficiently progressed for conversation. Verbal communication filters in place." The woman said. "I am Commander Cateria. I carry important information for the Empress. You are inferior and you are herby ordered to release me at once and supply me with all I need to complete my mission, otherwise I will destroy you." "Hold it right there, Commander." I said. "You attacked an unarmed Hospital ship and caused casualties and damage. You are inside Union space and you are in no position to make any demands." She closed her eyes and opened them with an even angrier look." It matters not if you destroyed my ship or my suit. My Nanites have infiltrated your systems as we speak and you will be at my mercy in mere moments." "Sorry to burst your hopes, Commander but we detected your Nanites and destroyed them. On the other hand our Nanites are in you repairing your cell structure. I have a good mind and order my medical officer to cease all restoration procedures and simply recover your brain and complete a memory dump on it. We don't really need your entire body to find out who or what you are." She blinked again and tried to swallow. I said. Commander if you do not want to find out just how primitive and barbaric I can be. Now you better tell me what you have done to the hospital ship. Are there Nanites of yours aboard that ship?" She didn't answer my question. Circuit came in and held a tiny metal sphere between his fingers. "I have never seen anything like that. This Alien Nanite control center is very advanced. Luckily however her nanites are work units only. My Battle nanites where able to infiltrate it and completely shut it down. Wetmouth removed it from her brain. She starred at Circuit with hate in her eyes but then sudden despair replaced her anger and she pleaded with me. "Is it not better to be under our rule than face utter destruction from the Dark Ones? Aide me to reach the Throne World and I will make sure your species will be rewarded." She ended her plea and begun to stare at me in a strange intense fashion. I felt as if something was pushing into my very mind, just like on Quagmire I suddenly became aware of my ring and always when that happened I wondered why I kept forgetting about it and at the same I saw Narth in a dreamlike vision before my eyes and I was certain he was saying."Push back." Somehow I did exactly that. I saw Wetmouth slumping over and Hans holding his head with both hands, I knew she attacked us with something Psionic and even Wetmouth wig that usually shielded her from such attacks appeared not effective. I hated Psionics and managed to put my anger at these invisible powers into a single thought and said loud. "Enough." The Alien woman screamed and blood ran out of her eyes and nose. Whatever affected me was gone. Hans lowered his hands and then aimed his blaster at the alien woman. "That Witch has Psionic powers too. I had it with those Psi freaks." "Hold your fire." I said. Wetmouth pulled herself up and took a deep breath. "I am alright." She went to her console and scanned the now unconscious woman." She is alive but barely. Something caused a massive cerebral hemorrhage and it appears she had some sort of bio tech device attached to her medulla oblongata. It is completely destroyed and crushed." I wiped my mouth and realized I was bleeding too. I had bitten on my tongue. "Keep her sedated and scan and examine her cell for cell I am almost certain she has other surprises hidden." Hans snorted. "She is too dangerous to be kept alive, Eric. She almost killed us twice now. Her technology is too far beyond ours." "I tend to agree with you Hans, but we must take the risk. We need to know where she came from and if there are more like her. Can you imagine what a fleet of those little ships could do? We are not in unknown space but deep in our own territory we deem safe. There are hundreds of inhabited worlds in this sector. It is our duty to find out as much as we can until help arrives." He grunted. "You're right. I just hate being attacked that way. It makes me feel so helpless." Wetmouth looked at me. "How did you defend yourself against that anyway? Even the Psi Shield in my wig failed." "I am not sure, Wetmouth. But I carried the Huhgavh of my friend Narth once and I think it has done something to me that made me less vulnerable to such attacks." She blinked. "A Narth? You know a Narth?" "Yes he is one of my best friends." "I don't know what a Huhgavh is." She said." But that could explain why the Psi Snake couldn't control you. Whatever the Narth did might have raised your Psionic abilities." "I love this Narth like a brother but I am like Hans, I don't like Psionics one bit." I assembled my little crew in the small conference room behind the bridge. Elfi started the meeting by saying' "I send all our findings and your report to Fleet Command and they say help is still days out. The situation on Planet Gregory is getting worse by the moment. They need the medical supplies aboard the Paracelsus badly." I nodded to Wetmouth so she could speak. "Our guest is in Zero Stasis. I established an original DNA pattern of hers and removed fourteen artificial enhancements most of them I have no idea what they do. She should be harmless now, and I repaired her enough so she will not deteriorate if we take her out of stasis, but she needs new organs the ones she has are failing. Our sickbay is not equipped with the necessary equipment to help her on that." I said. "But I bet the Paracelsus has equipment to do that, right?" Wetmouth nodded. "Yes, it is a Hospital ship after all." Circuit was next:"As I said before, her technology is far advanced to ours; she is at least Tech 11. Her Nanites are able to manipulate matter on the atomic level and reproduce quickly. Unlike ours, hers are more intelligent and adaptive. I am sure with her Nanite control device intact; she could reproduce enough units to rebuild her ship within a few weeks from scratch." "Circuit, can you detect her nanites?" "Yes, that was and is my original design. I was born to be a Nanite engineer and can see them and my nanites can find hers and neutralize them." "Can you launch some and get them over to the other ship and if she infested the Paracelsus?" "Yes I get right on it." "We need to secure the Paracelsus. Render first aid to those who are still alive help and repair it enough so we can get her Gregory as fast as possible." I begun to know Circuit well enough to detect his mood by the slight pitch adjustments he made to his voice." Sorry Eric, there is nothing left to repair. The engines are gone." Har Hi said:"I think it is possible we could tow the Paracelsus. Once we overcome the drag of her large mass we should be able to go superluminal just like container tugs do, not very fast of course but possible." Circuit nodded. "That would be our best option if no help arrives." I nodded. "Well I still hope there is help on its way, but let us keep that option in mind. Before we go ourselves I think we should send a Cerberus first if you think she's Nanite free."

After our meeting I went back to Sick bay and said to Wetmouth. "How is she?" "As long as she is in stasis she will be alright, but as I said she needs new organs soon." "Get her out of Stasis. I want to talk to her." I waited till Wetmouth pulled her out of the Stasis tube and deactivated the zero field. I waited till the alien woman opened her eyes. "Commander Cateria, I don't know who you are but let me give you some facts to consider. Our instruments say that you have been in stasis or suspended animation for a very long time, longer perhaps than you intended to be. My science officer thinks the reanimation process was interrupted or the machinery damaged, but your cell structure is failing on a massive scale. We cannot do much about that here on my ship and it appears we need to make you new organs. The big ship you attacked is a Hospital ship. An unarmed vessel but equipped with our most advanced medical technology and a host of medical specialists, able to do just that and save your life, so I am asking you and I am asking only once, do you have any of your Nanite technology on that ship?" She listened to me and Wetmouth activated a field screen over her head so she could see the scans of her own body. Wetmouth pointed at the image and said to the woman. "I am not sure how well you are trained in medical terms but on the right hand side you see a simulation of a healthy cell and on the left you see an actual picture of yours." The alien woman stared at the screen, pressed her lips together and then said:"I was attacked and my ship was damaged by the Dark Ones. I managed to land on a moon of a planetary system and engage the repair nanites. My body was also damaged so I placed myself in deep stasis for regeneration. Can your screen show me the system we are in?" Wetmouth answered her. "We are in no system, we are in deep space and that moon of yours is a wanderer an unattached celestial object drifting in deep space." Wetmouth fingers flew over the input screen." I am now calculating the path of the wanderer, factor its drifting speed and we can see from where it might have originated. The screen over the Alien woman's head changed and showed the asteroid then moved out to show the entire sector. A dotted line appeared and traced across the screen to an area well known to me, the Vanderstraat Nebula. Wetmouth explained. "It appears your moon could have come from the Vanderstraat Nebula, which has been created by a sun that went supernova and exploded approximately 1 Million Years ago. That timeframe correlates with my carbon dating data of your cells. It appears you have been in suspended animation for about that time span." Cateria's chin quivered as she stared at the screen." This was my home system. There were nine occupied worlds." I said. "We know of a force or species called the Dark Ones only from legends. Two of our oldest member species, the Saresii and the Narth remember that time and in their stories and legends the Dark Ones fought a Galaxy spanning culture we call the Celtest, as their true name is lost in time." A tear pearled across the alien woman's cheek." I know of the Narth and the Saresii. I also know you speak the truth. I am a Seenian, or what you call Celtest." She still stared at the screen. "Can you enhance that lower sector?" Wetmouth did and said:"This region of the Galaxy is called the Downward Sector and is still mostly unexplored." Cateria tried to raise her hand but the field restrained her." Can you zoom in on the left side and highlight all sequence sender stars there?" I wondered what she meant but Wetmouth nodded. "I am sure she means Quasars" The Alien woman said:"The Ancient ones that seeded human life in our Galaxy left these Beacon stars. The Throne world should be right there, but all I see is another Nebula. "Her voice became a whisper." There are no Seenians left then? We lost the war?" I nodded. "Saresii history records tell us that they joined the Celtest in that fight against the Dark Ones. The Saresii paid dearly for their involvement and had been punished by those Dark Ones. The Saresii fell back into primitive pre space flight conditions and gave up all FTL technology for more than 100,000 years. When they finally resumed space exploration both the Dark Ones and the Celtest were gone. There are no accessible reports about what the Narth know about that time." Wetmouth called up a selection of GalNet articles on Celtest subjects and said. "There are a few known Celtest artifacts and rumors about Celtest ruins, but no one ever claimed to have found anything belonging to the Dark Ones." Wetmouth switched to another article and said. "This is an article about the Celtest Terra legend. Some scholars believe it to be true, that Terrans have developed out of a forgotten or overlooked Celtest colony. Eric's ancestors are from Terra and our Helmsman is a true Terran." Her eyes lit up. "Maybe that is why you could capture me so easily." I grunted."It wasn't exactly easy." She sighed. "I think my ship automatically attacked your hospital ship to gain the necessary energy and materials to repair and restore it; I was woken shortly after the initial attack on that ship of yours. My repair capabilities were severely hampered by the lack of energy and the battle damage my intelligence systems received." She trembled and then sighed." I will no longer resist and try to help."

-""—

Two days later.

"This is Midshipman Olafson currently in command of the Devastator Auxiliary Ship 45-12, Barracuda Class Destroyer." I said after Elfi got me connected to Fleet Command. "We waited as long as possible for assistance but without any fleet units arriving in time and without further instructions or response to our reports I decided to continue with our efforts. We are now in orbit around planet Gregory. We managed to partially repair the hospital ship revive the crew that was in emergency stasis and tow the Paracelsus to Gregory. Captain Perma is currently in surgery but expected to recover fully from his wounds received during the attack on his ship. My science Officer Midshipman Wetmouth is currently planet side assisting the medical research team of the Paracelsus and she  isolated the cause of the epidemic. My engineer Midshipman Circuit is working on modifying a Loki torpedo to seed a counter agent into the atmosphere of planet Gregory. We believe this to be the fastest way to combat the disease causing microbes. We have a live Celtest commandant aboard, who was in suspended animation for about a Million years and was the cause for the Paracelsus damage." The Commodore laughed harshly. "Mister Olafson, I had about enough with your jokes and your fantastic stories. I indulged your games for a while now and I am sure you are having fun in whatever simulation the Academy put you in, but now stay away from official fleet channels and connect me with your commanding officer. Your fantasies are getting out of control." "Sir I am the commanding officer of this ship, but I can connect you to the XO of the Paracelsus in a short while, their Comm. systems are still under repair." "I had enough of this, Midshipman. Your adventure stories where fun and imaginative. I am contacting the Devastator for real and tell your Captain, you are in trouble now." The Commodore cut of the transmission before I could say another word. I looked at Elfi. "I am getting the distinct feeling he never really contacted anyone, no wonder no ever showed up" She blinked at me. "I did transmit our ID codes and everything." "Maybe he never looked at them." "We are being hailed, Eric. From the Devastator." Captain Harris and Stahl appeared on our screen and both had stern unreadable faces. Stahl spoke first. "I just got a complaint by the  Commandant of Cygnus Sector. He tells me a bunch of Midshipmen keep contacting him with outrageous stories of alive Celtest, Hospital ships in distress and all this happening deep in Union space. He liked your games at first but he thinks you are misusing official communication channels. What is this all about? Didn't Captain Harris send you to the Dover system?" "Yes Sir we were on our way to Dover when we encountered a distress call on our way and contacted Fleet Command for advice." I looked away from the screen and gave Elfi a sign. "Transmit our Comm. Logs and transcripts to them." I saw both Harris and Stahl watch and listen to our initial contact with Fleet Command. Stahl then looked up and said. "The Commodore believed it was a training scenario, and never checked or called on the Paracelsus. He never called us or anyone either. Now tell me the rest." I repeated my report and when I came to the end I said. "We overstrained our engines towing the Paracelsus. We could use some spare parts and fuel. The Colony doesn't have much and the Paracelsus is still without an engineering section." There was silence; both Officers looked at me with open mouths. Stahl then swallowed. "You are under Red-Red-Blue right now. Do not call anyone and mention the Celtest Officer. We will be there shortly."

We all stood in line and in attention on one of the Devastators Flight decks. Harris and Stahl walked slowly down up and down the short line we had formed; finally the Captain stopped and turned to me. "Teaches me to give the Olafson gang a ship, anyone else would have made it to Dover without any problems or incidents. There are ship crews spending their entire career flying all across this galaxy of ours and nothing ever happens to them, but the Olafson gang has to pick a fight with a tech-level 11 space ship, capture a real live Celtest Officer, tow a battle ship sized ship across 103 light years and find time to save 200,000 settlers by identifying the cause of a planet wide disease and even finding a way to effect a cure." He threw his hands into the air. "If we want to make this Galaxy a truly safe place, I guess we have to stick the nine of you into suspended animation for the next ten thousand years. It certainly would make my life a whole lot more predictable." I lowered my head. "I am sorry Sir. I know you gave us orders to go to Dover. I apologize if I disappointed you. I was in command and it was my fault alone. My friends only followed my orders. I accept all blame and any punishment you see fit." "I see. What do you have to say for your defense?" "Sir I believed I acted according to regulations especially after Fleet Command gave me green light to proceed. I was not aware he thought this was an exercise. Lives were at stake, Sir. Truth to be told I would have acted the same way if I had no orders from Fleet Command. Before you punish me, Sir I want to recommend my fellow Midshipmen who acted gallantly and professionally.I also recommend a re-evaluation of communication protocols. I am certain we acted exactly as regulations required us to act in case of a distress call. That the receiving party, decided to evaluate the situation without verifying the facts could cause serious harm. What if other distress calls are dismissed the same way?" Harris put his hand on my shoulder and sighed. "Olafson you are not in any trouble. The Admiral and I watched some of your recordings and we are deeply impressed by your alls conduct action and professionalism. It was my fault for not giving the Barracuda official recognizable codes, the Commodore could check and verify. The ship now has a name and that might help too. It is properly registered now at Fleet Central as the USS Porter. The section commandant is currently facing serious charges and his performance evaluated." He shook his head. "The only thing I still can't explain why those things always happen to you. Do you have some sort of magnet for trouble implanted or perhaps a gypsy cursed you in your crib?" Stahl's stern face didn't chance. "The discovery of a living member of the Celtest race is perhaps the most significant find in recent history. Because of that significance it must remain secret. You are not allowed to speak to anyone about this incident. However the events showed clearly that you are no mere Midshipmen, but talented and resourceful officers. I am making you all acting Ensigns and we intend to make your ranks permanent after you completed your Challenge at Dover Planet. It seems almost trivial to send you now to a Midshipman challenge, but we already committed you to that. Since Captain Harris is already getting used to decorating you, I will do it myself." Harris opened a box and Stahl tagged a Distinguished Space Star on my ribbon display. "Mr. Olafson once more you displayed courage and resourcefulness in a difficult situation and while I am not superstitious I begin to ask myself the same questions Captain Harris has raised." He then decorated everyone the same way and added a golden Mercy Cross to Wetmouth's decorations. "This is for identifying a disease and saving an entire planet by finding a cure." She answered. "Thank you Sir, but it is Circuit who deserves it. It was his idea to seed the atmosphere with a genetic designed virus that killed the fever causing bacteria." He sighed just like Harris. "That's why I am giving him one too."