Meisha’s mind went through the list of excuses she had created for Thorn as she and Fubuki ran through the Dauntless Midnight, heading for the lower decks. Perhaps the pilot was just a coward and afraid of the possibility of aliens. Maybe this was just a glitch in the Midnight’s systems, and Thorn was asleep or drunk somewhere. Deep in Meisha’s gut though, she knew Thorn was involved in something nefarious.

  As Meisha moved through the corridors and elevators,crewmen stepped to the side and saluted their captain, eyes widening at her companion’s appearance. Meisha was vaguely aware that she was introducing a lot of people to their first alien contact, and Fubuki was polite, if brief, with her crew. She would smile warmly at people as they passed, or issue quick apologies for Meisha’s fast pace and lack of greeting.

  “How long have you known this Thorn?” Fubuki asked.

  “Less than two days.” Meisha paused, trying to count the time. She realized that she had been awake for a while, and still hadn’t gotten a chance to eat, sleep or receive any sort of medical treatment. Her body realized this and complained to her brain, who was too distracted to care. Fubuki brought her back to focus by touching her shoulder, concern in her eyes.

  “You’ve been pushing too hard, Meisha.” She said gently. “You’re gonna burn out soon if you don’t rest.”

  “After we deal with Thorn.” Meisha growled. “I’ll rest after Thorn.” She continued marching through the more habitable part of the Midnight, passing its open air atriums with plants and water features, descending into its more industrial belly. The AI core was close to the front of the ship so it could be near the colossal, high powered communication’s network that was supposed to allow the Midnight to send messages to Earth’s quantum communication towers.

  Briggs had placed guards around the hangars, lifeboats, and airlocks after it was found that someone had tried to launch a lifeboat manually without alerting the bridge. Whatever Thorn was connected to, it had allowed her access to the Midnight’s override codes that only Meisha was supposed to know. The only thing that had stopped the lifeboat’s launch had been an unlucky crewman, who was found dead in the lifeboat itself. Serrano had determined that the poor man had died from asphyxiation.

  As they approached the AI core, the air grew frigid and dry. Meisha coughed and winced as the cold air stung her lungs, blinking back tears from the pain of breathing. The AI core was kept at brisky 200 kelvin to help keep the high powered computer systems running at peak efficiency. To enter the large server room and search for Thorn, they’d need protective suits. Anybody who entered without one would freeze to death in minutes.

  Briggs and a handful of troopers were waiting for them as Meisha and Fubuki ran up, clad in thick gray cold suits worn over their armor. Along with them was a pair of REAPERS to stand guard and stop anybody from leaving. Briggs didn’t smile at her; just reaching out with a short barreled rifle in his hands for her to take. Meisha shook her head.

  “No firearms in here. If we aren’t careful we’ll end up shredding our whole network. We’re already damaged, I don’t need our databases, navigation, weapons control and comms destroyed.”

  “You know that if she’s in there and violent, she won’t care about destroying our core.”

  “I know.”

  “That means that you want us to go in there and try and catch someone who has a gun, with our bare hands?”

  “Yes.”

  Meisha expected Briggs to argue or protest, but the big man just shrugged and looked at his soldiers. “You heard the lady. Guns are to be left out here. No projectiles or explosives. This is the brain of the Midnight, so be gentle with it. He looked over at Fubuki and paused, before looking back at Meisha. “So what the hell is she?”

  “Hey I’m right here, you could have asked me.” Fubuki huffed. Meisha ignored the all-powerful creature’s whining and shook her head.

  “Briggs I don’t have the time, energy or slightest clue to be able to explain it. One thing at a time, man.”

  Briggs finally cracked a grin. “You’re starting to sound a little worn, Captain.”

  “Little isn’t even close to the right word. Have any cold suits?”

  Briggs nodded to a trooper who dug two thick gray suits out of a storage case, holding them out to Meisha and Fubuki. Meisha accepted one without a word and started to put it on over her borrowed armor. Fubuki smiled politely and shook her head. “Not something I need.” Meisha finished zipping the suit up and put on the helmet that would seal the warm environment inside. Unless it got torn, the suit would keep the extreme cold from getting in, and keep her body heat from radiating out. It was uncomfortable and bulky, but it would keep her alive. She nodded at Briggs and the rest of his team.

  “Alright, let's end this. Open it up.”

  Briggs nodded, and barked a quick order at his troopers. Two stacked up on either side of the heavy door, pulling out black sticks that extended into batons. Energy began crackling around the baton, creating a quiet humming sound. It would cause a painful shock when touched to any surface. Meisha hoped that the coldsuit Thorn wore wouldn’t reduce its effectiveness.

  The insulated steel door that sealed off the bitter cold from the rest of the ship slid open, and one of the troopers leaned inside, tossing a small disk in. Immediately a wave of machine gun fire tore through the entryway, tearing up the soldier’s arm as the flash grenade the soldier had thrown in detonated. The wounded man stumbled off to the side where one of the Reapers grabbed him and began to help with his wounds. Briggs cursed and sealed the door.

  “Well the bitch isn’t alone, that's for sure.” He swore.

  Meisha felt sick. Was this a mutiny? Had she already done this poor of a job? “What now?” She asked nobody in particular. Briggs decided to respond.

  “Well unless you let us use weapons, a lot of people are gonna die trying to take this room back.” As he spoke, the Midnight shuddered and its lights went out. Red warning lights flashed on, casting a dim glow in the hallway and obscuring the previously illuminated faces of the soldiers around them.

  “They’re beginning to turn our systems off.” Meisha cursed.

  “Would they be able to override the life support systems?” Fubuki asked quietly.

  “With enough time to crack the safeties on it, yeah. Anything can be hacked and broken into given enough time and power.”

  Fubuki nodded, and tapped a finger on her sword's hilt. “And you want this Thorn person alive, correct?”

  “Yes, I have a few questions.”

  “The rest of the people in there?”

  Meisha paused and thought about her answer. If they executed to perfection, nobody would die. She would be able to get answers from everybody involved. Briggs and the rest of her soldiers waited for an answer, watching her expectantly. She took a breath. “They chose their actions. If they want, they can choose to die as well.”

  Fubuki nodded and smiled. “In that case, I’ll be back in a bit. Open the door for me, please?”

  “Wait, you aren’t going in there without me.” Meisha protested.

  Fubuki raised an eyebrow. “You’re going to walk into gunfire? I can stop bullets with sheer willpower. What excuse do you have?”

  Meisha straightened herself up. “This is the most important part of my ship, and you’re still a very unknown element. If the situation isn’t handled carefully we can damn ourselves even without the Ferronians shooting at us.”

  “It's only a handful of humans. I can handle them very easily.”

  “Yeah that's part of the problem, Fubuki. I’ve seen what happens when you ‘handle’ enemies. It looks like they tend to make a mess, and that's the last thing we want in here. And it's my responsibility as captain to ensure this goes well with minimal damage to our systems.

  “A captain who should know that she’s extremely tired and worn out, and very injured.”

  “That hasn’t stopped me so far.”

  “Of all the stubborn, stupid things to be involved in, this-”

  “It's what? This is normal for us, as far as things go.”

  Briggs cleared his throat, nudging Meisha to get her attention. She shook her head and stared Fubuki right in the eyes. “Like it or not, I’m coming with. These are my people. If they die, I’m there, regardless of if they’re mutineers or whatever they are.”

  Fubuki was quiet for a moment, then nodded. “Alright dear captain, if you wish to get yourself killed, I won’t stand in your way. You can endanger yourself to your heart’s content.”

  “That won’t happen.” Meisha assured her.

  “Oh? And why not?”

  “Because I’ll have you with me. You’ll protect me, just like you have since you found me.”

  Fubuki hesitated, and laughed. “I guess I will, huh. Well played Meisha. So, do you have a plan?”

  “Run in headfirst like we always seem to do?”

  “Yeah that's worked out great so far.” Briggs grunted.

  Meisha’s nerves were tingling. The truth was she didn’t want to go into the AI core. On the other hand, now that she knew there were multiple people inside the core, not just Thorn, she couldn’t order her troopers to attack unarmed. They could try and send a drone in, but it would be fired upon and shrapnel or explosions could damage important systems and make the Midnight a flying steel coffin. The best hope they had was a small but capable force that was able to deflect or disarm the mutineers to overwhelm the defenders inside of the core.

  Fubuki could do this, but Meisha could not justify her own presence in the core. She was not in a good mental state. Aliens existed, they were hostile, and she had failed to arrive in time to save Hanaloi. Of course that line of thought was irrational; she hadn’t received the mission nor the Midnight until after contact had been lost, but it still gnawed at her.

  And then there was Fubuki herself. The captain found that she could not help but glance at the creature’s horns or whatever they were, and Fubuki seemed to be aware of that. She would give Meisha a playful wink whenever she caught the captain gawking, oblivious to the confusion and uncertainty that her presence caused the young human. The creature was staring at her now, concern in her eyes.

  “Meisha, I don’t know if you should do this. You look like you’re having a hard time staying awake.”

  Briggs grunted his agreement. “There’s no shame in delegation, captain. Some even say it's an art.”

  “I’ve always been a shit artist.” Meisha grunted. “Fubuki, you can stop bullets by doing your gravity thing, right?”

  The Dragon of the Abyss smiled. “Yes, I can do my ‘gravity thing’ and stop bullets.”

  “I saw you shoot them back at the Ferronians earlier.”

  “Yes I also have a ‘Return to Sender’ option.” Fubuki said proudly. “And I can fly bullets much better than your laughable weapons can. Believe it or not, when you control matter itself, you can be pretty damned accurate.”

  “Ok so here’s the plan: You’ll enter first, obviously stop their bullets. Try not to shoot back if it's going to hit one of the processor racks or server units. Be a distraction, scare the hell out of them, make a lot of racket. I’ll come in behind you and duck into the first row of server units. They’ll probably have a crossfire set up in the central walkway, but that first row would be too risky and they only have a limited number of bodies, so I should be safe there. As long as you keep the main force distracted, I’ll sneak around and disable anyone I can with the stun baton. If everything goes well, I’ll be able to reach Thorn and catch her off guard while she and her friends are dealing with you.”

  “Does that stun baton even work on the cold suits, captain?” Briggs asked.

  Meisha shrugged. “I’m not sure, but it's the best non-lethal attack we have other than just pure blunt force.”

  Fubuki thought for a moment. “That's dangerous and very risky. I love it. I don’t have the chance to be a drama queen enough for my liking these days, so this will be fun. However, I have one stipulation.”

  “Who said you have a say in anything?” Meisha retorted.

  Fubuki looked down at her, a dangerous and mischievous look in her eyes. “Dear captain, in reality, I am the only one with a say here. You’re just lucky I like you and happen to be on your side. I’ll let you think you’re still in charge.”

  “She is still in charge, and you’d do well to remember that.” Briggs growled.

  “My stipulation,” Fubuki continued, ignoring Briggs. `` is this.” She unholstered her old revolver and held it out to Meisha. “You take this as well as a stun baton. It's got six shots, of course, but the weapon I made myself. The bullets are tipped with rare minerals I haven't been able to find in humanspace. Even in the suboptimal temperatures of your core room, the weapon won’t freeze. Have you ever fired a revolver before? I know it's an ancient design for you.”

  “My dad was a collector.” Meisha murmured, reaching out and accepting the weapon. It was much heavier than the modern smart pistols, with no helmet link or heads up display. Pure cold steel and mechanical parts, with a real wooden grip. Keeping her finger away from the trigger, she spun the chamber slowly, and inspected each bullet. They were strange, cased in black material with a blue crystalline tip. She put her thumb on the hammer and pulled it back until it clicked, and looked at Fubuki. “Why a revolver?”

  “I just think they’re cool.” The space goddess answered with a shrug. “Sure they’re impractical these days for a normal person, but, well.” She gestured to herself. “I’ll admit I rarely actually fire it. Most of the time I just project the bullet out myself since I can shoot them faster than the gun can. But I like having it on hand.”

  Meisha took a deep breath and looked around. “Well not really much of a reason to keep waiting, right? You gonna be warm enough Fubuki? It gets cold in there.”

  “Do you know how cold the vacuum of space can be?” Fubuki asked with an eye raised. “I’ll be fine.”

  “We’ll guard the door for you and make sure nobody tries to run.” Briggs said, giving Meisha a salute. “Do me a favor, alright captain?”

  “What?”

  “Stop them before they decide to try and overload the reactor or something. And for the love of God don’t get yourself killed in there.”

  “No promises.” The captain steadied herself. “Alright, Fubuki take point. Open it back up.”

  Fubuki stepped in front of Meisha and held out her hand as the maw of the AI core once again slid open. Just like last time, Gunfire immediately filled the doorway, pinging off the steel floor and walls. Fubuki simply walked forward with her hand outstretched, a cloud of inert bullets beginning to form in front of her. Her breathing created clouds of vapor that crystalized in the cold white light of the room. Dragon of the Abyss, indeed. She continued to walk forwards as Meisha used her for cover, flicking bullets back in their prior directions. Her shots didn’t hit their assailants; pinging harmlessly off the floor. These people had well defended positions and were dug into them well.

  The door sealed shut behind them, leaving them locked in the frigid environment. Underneath the sound of gunfire, there was the constant background noise of humming as the servers and processors continued their jobs, unbothered by the chaos around them. Fubuki seemed to revel in it. She looked back at Meisha, a dangerous light in her eyes. “This is where you depart, dear captain. Do be careful now.”

  Meisha nodded and dove to her right, moving out from behind Fubuki’s wall of protection and behind the walls of servers, processors, and quantum cabling. She crouched low and moved swiftly along the wall, the noise of gunfire picking up behind her. Fubuki was laughing. The sound of it sent shivers up her spine, and warned her to never get on the woman’s bad side.

  As she reached the corner of the first computation wall, she slowed and willed herself to crouch lower, peering around the corner into the side passageway. Sure enough, there was someone there, clad in an armored cold suit, a flechette rifle aimed down the second hallway. His face was hard to make out from the coldsuit’s bulky helmet, but she recognized his eyes as one of her engineers.

  He was firing at Fubuki, ducking behind a server rack to reload his weapon when needed. Meisha’s anger flared up at the use of the flechette rifle; it had been chosen deliberately. Even if the soldier missed, the flechettes he fired would still pierce servers and processors and do irreparable damage to the Midnight’s core systems. She studied him and readied herself.

  The next time he began to reload, she darted around the corner and activated the stun baton, cracking it against his neck. He had seen her at the last moment and tried to bring his gun up to block her strike, deflecting it into his helmet. He grunted as the baton struck him, but his coldsuit was designed for the AI core. It was insulated enough to avoid any major electrical disruptions the system might have; it was more than enough to negate the baton’s much weaker charge.

  Meisha’s heart fell into her stomach as the man recovered from the blow, bringing up his unloaded rifle like a bat. He swung it at her head and she ducked down, the rifle slamming into the server rack next to her. As he lifted the rifle again, she launched herself as hard as she could into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him with her helmet. He dropped the rifle and fell to the floor, drawing a knife from his hip and growling at her.

  She scrambled and grabbed his rifle, swinging it up and hitting his hand as he lunged at her. The knife fell as his knuckles cracked, and he howled in pain. With a snarl, he dove to grab the fallen knife with his other hand, but Meisha had jumped for it as soon as it had fallen, discarding her improvised club. She slid on her stomach for it, grabbing the handle seconds before his hand reached it and rolled over, trying to jump to her feet. He was too quick though, jumping on top of her and wrestling for control of the knife.

  Meisha grit her teeth and fought against the man, who was larger, heavier and more powerful than the small captain. He eventually wrenched it from her hands and drove it towards her neck, grunting with effort as she pushed against his wrists, trying to keep the blade away. Her muscles burned as the knife slipped lower and lower. Fubuki was too preoccupied to save her this time, Meisha realized. The knife reached the outer layer of fabric on her cold suit. Digging any further would rupture her protective barrier and begin freezing her to death. The knife would finish the job before that happened.

  Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself for what she was about to do. “This is going to hurt so damned much.” She growled at the man. He hesitated for a second, confused. With a yell, she let go of one of his wrists with her right hand, pushing with all of her might with her left. The lack of opposing force on one side and the increase from the other caused the knife to slip to the side, driving it into her right shoulder instead of her neck. The pain was nearly blinding as the blade tore through her muscle and bone. A pool of blood leaked out of her suit, steaming in the frigid air and slowly beginning to crystalize and freeze. She cried out in agony, but her assailant was thrown off balance momentarily, and with her good arm she shoved him off herself.

  She forced herself to stagger away from him as he rose again. With the knife still in her shoulder, she drew Fubuki’s revolver with her left hand, hammer still cocked back from earlier. She was close enough that she wouldn’t miss, and both Meisha and the traitor engineer knew that. His eyes filled with fear as he looked up at the barrel of the revolver. Adrenaline steadier her hand as Meisha stared into his eyes, and pulled the trigger. The hammer of the revolver slammed forwards and the gun rocked back in her hand, hurting her wrist with the force of the kick. The relic cut through the din of battle and rumbling of servers with a massive boom as the bullet cracked open the man’s helmet. He fell back in a spray of shattered glass and blood, steam coming from the hole in his helmet.

  “Damn it all… just damn it.” She whimpered. Meisha stood there for a moment, breathing hard, nerves and adrenaline clearing her thoughts. She tucked the revolver away, and gripped the knife in her shoulder. With a deep breath and a yelp of pain, she yanked it out and dropped it to the floor, clutching her shoulder and blinking back tears. The good news was that the cold air was starting to make her shoulder numb. That was also very bad news. If she didn’t get her suit sealed up soon, she might lose that arm. Or worse.

  With a grunt, Meisha pulled a small can of insulating sealant from her suit’s emergency pouch, and sprayed it over her shoulder. She had avoided death for the moment.”One down, God knows how many more to go.” She muttered. Something was different about the AI core now, she realized. It was much quieter. The roar of gunfire that had started when she and Fubuki had entered was now silent. Lazy red snowflakes drifted down around her, being pushed by the breeze of the room’s cooling systems. Frozen blood.

  Something clanged behind her and she spun to see Fubuki approaching, eyes wild and splashes of red on her face and hair. She was gripping her sword in one hand, covered in crimson ice. With each footstep she took towards the young captain, the bloody mist that fell around them rippled away from her like a stone tossed into a calm pond. Meisha stood still, terrified.

  She had no reason to be afraid, something in the back of her mind reassured. But the more primal part of her screamed that she was in danger and needed to flee. Fubuki had always seemed strange, but in this moment she appeared more as an animal than intelligence. She was on the hunt, and Meisha was in her way.

  Fubuki tilted her head to the side, stepping closer as Meisha took a nervous step back. Meisha was shivering, though whether it was from fear or cold exposure was hard to tell. The Dragon of the Abyss looked her over, and then gazed past her at the body of the engineer laying on the ground. As she studied the blood on Meisha’s cold suit, her expression which was more frigid than the AI core began to melt.

  “You’re hurt pretty bad.” She fretted, taking Meisha by her good shoulder and studying where her suit had been pierced. “And you’re shaking. How long was your suit open for?” When Meisha didn’t respond, looked up into her eyes and froze. “You’re afraid of me.” She said. It wasn’t a question, just an observation of a fact, as if she was declaring the room to be cold.

  Meisha hesitated, and gave an embarrassed nod. “Every instinct in me is telling me to run from you.” She looked past her blood-soaked ally. “What happened to the mutineers?”

  “I managed to break their defenses and incapacitate a lot of them.” Fubuki admitted. “But the rest scattered. I want to estimate that there were about thirteen of them, not including this guy. I got eleven. Their leader and I think their tech slipped away from me.”

  “Thorn.” Meisha growled. She was still shivering but nowhere near as much. “I don’t understand why she’d be doing this.” She looked back at Fubuki, and saw the sadness in her eyes. “You know, don’t you.”

  “Yes.”

  “And you won’t tell me.”

  Fubuki gave Meisha a pleading look. “Meisha, I beg you to trust me. I don’t think you could handle the information right now. You’re physically injured on a level most people would be unconscious for, mentally exhausted, emotionally devastated. If you keep pushing, you’re going to either break mentally or die.”

  “Is it really that bad?”

  “I’d worry you would walk out an airlock.”

  Meisha tried to act angry at the suggestion. “I’d never do something like that. I have a duty to my crew, the Admiralty and humanity.” Fubuki didn’t reply, just watched her with sad eyes.

  “Poor creature.” She said softly. It wasn’t demeaning, though Meisha felt it should have been. She felt her shoulders slump.

  “I’m tired. Can we finish this so I can sleep?”

  Fubuki smiled. “Yes. Lets go catch this thorn in your side.”

  “That's not funny or witty.”

  “I disagree.”

  The pair began to move through the AI core again, watching for any signs of their two targets. The steady rumble of electronic equipment masked the noise their footsteps made, though Meisha was pretty sure that she was the only one making noise as she walked. They passed through the main section, and Fubuki hesitated for a moment. “Don’t look, just walk.” She told Meisha.

  Meisha ignored her and surveyed the hallway, suppressing a gag. People had been torn apart, and split in half. Their bodies were frozen solid where they had fallen, pools of blood swiftly turned to ice. Limbs and torsos were severed and lay meters away from their owners. One man even had his rifle sticking out of his chest. Meisha looked back at Fubuki, who was looking at her with shame in her eyes. “I told you not to look.” She whispered.

  “If I’m going to trust you, I need to know what you’re capable of.” Meisha answered. It was a good response, neither affirming Fubuki’s grisly actions, nor condoning them. A flash of light caught her eye, near the back of the AI core. She pointed that way with her good arm. “Think they’re over there?”

  “Well, let's go see. Approach quietly.” Fubuki told her. “And keep that revolver out. No more stun baton attempts for you.”

  “I need her alive, Fubuki.”

  “I understand. Tru…”

  “Trust you, yeah yeah I got it.”

  With a wink, Fubuki jumped onto one of the server racks and disappeared, leaving Meisha alone again. She grumbled under her breath, not willing to admit that she missed the company already. Fubuki’s presence had kept her darker thoughts about the situation at bay. Meisha used her hip to cock the revolver’s hammer back, keeping it ready in case she needed it. As she moved along the server walls, she began to hear voices. Two of them, one unfamiliar, and the other very familiar. Thorn.

  “How much longer until the reactor’s safeties are taken off and we can overload it?”

  “Maybe seven minutes, ma’am.” The unfamiliar voice answered. “The codes that they gave us aren’t working as well as intended. Someone’s fighting us every step of the way.”

  Pirique would be that someone fighting them, Meisha thought with satisfaction. The man’s other words sank in seconds later. Who gave them codes? Codes to what?

  “They weren’t supposed to make it this far in the first place.” Thorn grunted to the hacker. “Why would they die easily now? We underestimated them.”

  “Or, you didn’t anticipate me.” Fubuki announced, seeming to step out of the shadows behind the hacker. Meisha rounded the corner, revolver raised. Thorn and the hacker were crouched next to a terminal, with a heavy datapad plugged into it. Both snapped to their feet in an instant, raising weapons back to back.

  “Stand the f- down, Thorn.” Meisha growled. “I swear if you move a muscle I won’t hesitate to put you on the ground.”

  “Ahh Meisha. Been a while. I see you brought along your pet monster.” The woman replied coolly, her rifle leveled at Meisha’s chest. Fubuki was tapping her sword against a server rack, staring at the hacker.

  “I have a name, you know. What, did the Ferronians forget to tell you about me? They leave that little detail out when telling you about their little plan to conquer the galaxy?”

  Thorn shifted uncomfortably. “They seem to have. It doesn’t change the result though. Just means this will be bloodier than it already needs to.”

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  “Bloodier? Christ Thorn, a whole colony and starshot station have been wiped out already. We’ve entered a war with a new species, the last thing we need to do is fight each other. This isn’t the time for a mutiny. There doesn’t need to be any more bloodshed.” Meisha pleaded.

  “This isn’t a mutiny.” Thorn laughed. “It's a fulfillment of orders. What do you think is going on here, Meisha? You still haven’t realized it yet?”

  “I’d be careful what you say next.” Fubuki warned.

  Thorn ignored her. “You’re smart but naive as hell, Meisha. And you’re rather stubborn. Not a combination the Admiralty likes.”

  Meisha shook her head, bewildered. “What does that mean?”

  “Ma’am, maybe we shouldn’t-” The hacker began.

  Thorn laughed. “It doesn’t matter anymore, her finding out now won’t actually change anything. Meisha, the only person who’s leading a mutiny right now is you.”

  “Do you get off on being an insane bitch?”

  Thorn shook her head. “Allow me to introduce myself, Captain.” She said, snarling the last word. “Admiral Jessica Thorenton, Fleet Intelligence and Special Operations. Not only your acting superior, but the one really in charge of this mission.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “You don’t have to. The Admiralty is the one in command here, not you. Granted you lasted longer than we thought you would. You were supposed to die at the Starshot station.”

  “I don’t…”

  “Oh come on Meisha, you aren’t this stupid. We gave you an impressive ship that's not that good, and a bunch of people who had wronged the Admiralty. Everyone on this godforsaken boat has crossed us in one way or another, you already know that. We knew you wouldn’t support the coupe so we laid a nice trap for you.”

  “Coupe?”

  “The Admiralty began to seize command of the government as soon as you and a few other troublemakers were sent out. Starshots were sabotaged to make sure you couldn’t return and interrupt. As we speak, Earth and her colonies are under Admiralty control. Vidaker has big plans.”

  “Now I know that's a lie. People like Branson would never stand for this.”

  “Branson set this whole operation up!” Thorn laughed. “He knew you’d never agree with the Admiralty taking over. Something about loving democracy. Instead we let the Ferronians fight against some rogue elements of our fleet and test themselves. It was a requirement for them to ally themselves with us.Two massive fleets to conquer the galaxy.”

  “You’re lying.”

  “I’m not. You’re the last little element of resistance we had to start our new conquest. We’ve known of the Ferronians for years. This plan has been in progress for a few months now. I mean think about how much was off, really? Why haven't your quantum communications worked? Why was the starshot so damaged, and why did its security force target you? There was no malfunction. My team and I were the last resort in case things went south and you managed to survive. Detonating the reactor would make sure that you don’t try to interfere, though even if you did, you wouldn’t make it very far.”

  Meisha looked over Thorn’s shoulder, back at Fubuki. “You knew this, didn’t you? That's why you’re taking us away from human space and to this Ephora place. You knew.”

  “Yes.” Fubuki admitted.

  “You should have told me.”

  “I wasn’t sure how.”

  Thorn cleared her throat. “So now that we’re all caught up and still at gunpoint, what now, Meisha? You can’t go back home, the Admiralty will have you shot on sight. You can’t fight against us, you don’t have the stomach for killing your fellow navy members, especially the ones just following orders.”

  “Could just kill you and run.” Meisha growled.

  “And how would you supply your crew? Hell most of them also just got torn away from their families. How do you think they’ll react when they learn about all of this?”

  “So what do you propose?”

  Thorn smiled. “If you surrender the ship to me, I’ll make sure that you are given a nice comfortable prison cell. You can keep your life and live in comfort until the end of the war, and then go back to freedom as a civilian with no military power. Your crew will live, although probably in cells not as comfortable. But they’ll all be able to see their families again.”

  “Or?”

  “Or you can drift around space like a pirate or raider, and starve to death cold and alone while your crew eat each other to survive.” Thorn said with a shrug.

  “Or.” Fubuki interjected. “You could agree to become my military commander and lead a unified force to fight against the corruption that's taking over your government and the Ferronian fleets.” She stepped forwards, sheathing her sword and ignoring the hacker. He pulled his rifle’s trigger as a reflex, and fell back as Fubuki flicked the bullet back at him. “There’s a right way to handle this that ends up in peace for everyone.”

  “Like the man you just killed?” Thorn laughed. “Meisha won’t fight against her own military or species for that matter. She’d be killing classmates of the Academy, friends, and respected members of society.” She looked back at Meisha. “Face it, you don’t have it in you to turn your back on humanity.”

  “You wanna know what I think?” Meisha whispered. “I think both of you are full of shit and trying to play me. I don’t believe that what you’re saying is true. I refuse to. So let me tell you what I’m going to do. Penelope Vasquez, you are under arrest for attempted mutiny, attacking a superior officer, and damage of fleet property. You will be kept in the brig until we arrive back at Earth, and you will be handed over for a trial.”

  “You idiot, if you enter Sol at all they’ll nuke the ship and kill us both!” Thorn snarled.

  “Then we’ll burn together. As for you.” Meisha said, looking past Thorn at Fubuki. “We’ll talk about this much later.”

  Meisha ran. Her breath came in ragged gasps as she sprinted on the treadmill, sucking in every bit of oxygen she could take through the mask hooked up to her face. Her sweat seeped into the smaller cuts and bruises she had obtained over the last several days, creating a muted stinging that seemed almost distant. It helped push her to continue running. As she breathed, tiny medical nanites were pulled into her lungs through the oxygen mask she wore, repairing the damage Hanaloi’s hot gasses had caused to her organs.

  Serrano had demanded to see Meisha as soon as Thorn had been put behind bars. Meisha hadn’t made it to the medical bay before passing out from blood loss; the sealant she had used was rated for fabrics, not skin. As Briggs told it, Fubuki had carried her to her cabin and helped Serrano and Gabriels stabilize her, getting a nutrient IV hooked up and applying some quick regenerative patches to her shoulder. It still throbbed as she ran, but the pain was nowhere near as bad as it had been.

  Meisha had slept for three days straight as they worked to bring her back to health. Pirique took over control of the ship in the meantime, not that there had been much to do. Fubuki kept them in the wormhole, allowing them to make interior repairs and settle down to a sense of understanding to the fact that not only were they no longer alone, but they were at war.

  For her part, Fubuki tried not to interact too much with the rest of the crew, who stared at her wide eyed and frightened. Briggs was the only one to not shy away from the Dragon much, but his interactions with her amounted to bringing her food from the cafeteria as she sat in a chair and examined Meisha’s weak vital signs. The woman’s dress had been all but wasted, so Serrano had managed to find a few sets of officer’s uniforms that were large enough to fit the tall woman, as well as a naval cap to help cover her horns. Fubuki had accepted these with thanks, but cut small holes in the cap, arguing that the crew should grow accustomed to what she really was instead of trying to cover it up.

  She stood in the therapy center of the medical wing with Serrano, Pirique and Briggs, watching Meisha sprint and monitoring her heart rate and breathing. She hadn’t spoken much since the AI core. Neither had Meisha. The captain was still wrestling with what Thorn had declared to be true, and Fubuki had confirmed. Even though she refused to believe it, a small voice in the back of Meisha’s mind knew it was true.

  Too much that had happened could be explained by the Admiralty’s betrayal of humanity’s democracy; things she had no answer for otherwise. Yet if she allowed herself to believe it, she’d sink into misery. So she did neither, and instead she ran. Harder and faster, legs and arms pumping, heart feeling like it was going to explode from her chest. Her muscles burned, but still she pushed herself, using the stinging from her wounds and the desire to drown out her thoughts as motivation.

  Her thoughts got the better of her, and she missed a step. It was a small step, just barely off balance, but at the speed she was going it was enough. Meisha stumbled and felt the treadmill slip from under her as she fell, getting thrown onto the ground behind the machine in a quaking mess. The oxygen mask had been ripped off, and it hung loosely as the treadmill continued to run, unaware that its occupant had fallen. She lay there for a moment, catching her breath and silently cursing herself.

  “I’ve done all I can for her physically.” She heard Serrano tell the others. “Her lungs are still a bit raw, but healed up for the most part. Same with her shoulder and injured arm. I don’t know how she is mentally, however. It's like she’s in shock still. She’s not all there.”

  “I don’t think any of us are right now.” Briggs said. “Do you think she’s still fit for command?”

  “Hard to say.” Serrano admitted. “She’s a hell of a fighter but I think she pushed herself way too far.”

  Fubuki walked over to Meisha and helped her sit up. “Are you alright?” She asked softly. Meisha looked over in the direction of the others, not saying a word. Fubuki gave her a sad smile. “It's ok, neither am I.”

  The alien woman was quiet for a long time, and sat down next to Meisha. “What's the biggest mistake you’ve ever made?” She asked the disgruntled captain.

  The question caught Meisha off guard and she had to think about it for a moment. “Besides this mission?”

  “Yeah besides this mission.”

  “I crashed my advanced navigation class into the moon when I was in the Academy.” Meisha muttered. “I was calculating our trajectory via non AI computing and the challenge was to adjust and update without a navigation AI. One who got us to Earth from Pluto in the fastest time possible won. Took months of hard work and heavy math crunching. I was able to time up our flight so we could slingshot around a few of the planets. Give us a bit of a speed boost. Well I had taken everything into account but the orbit of the moon. Was lucky it was just a simulation, but the class never let me live that down.”

  Fubuki smiled at her story. “That doesn’t seem like that big of a mistake. A simple error in calculations in a simulation. And it's certainly not a mistake from the moral side of things.”

  “I guess not, no. But look at this mission, Fubuki. I couldn’t see a clear trap. I split my forces, got so many people killed or wounded at best. The Midnight is damaged pretty badly and according to my mutineer, my government is gone and my bosses and friends want me dead.”

  “How many people have you killed, Meisha? Not from the bridge of a ship, but directly and willfully?”

  “Maybe two hundred.” Meisha murmured, thinking back to the pirates. “But what does that have to do with anything?”

  Fubuki looked off in the distance. “I’ve killed trillions, Meisha. Without regard. I didn’t care if they were innocent or sick or young or old. I’ve killed pregnant mothers and young sons. Fathers, daughters.”

  Meisha stared at her in horror. “Why?” She whispered.

  The Dragon gave a half shrug, not able to look her directly in the eyes. “I can make up all sorts of excuses, but the honest answer is I don’t know. When I first woke up, I was alone. No family or people or planet even. Just me and the void. My mind wasn’t as…complex as it is now. All I could see were insects beneath me.”

  Fubuki shivered as she spoke, her eyes distant. “I had only three desires really; things that dug deep into me and demanded fulfillment: Domination, Destruction, and fear.” She shook her head, looking at Meisha with sad, watery eyes. “I couldn’t stop, Meisha. It felt like I was starving. Killing, dominating, it was all I could do to feed that hunger. I don’t think I was even capable of feeling anything else.I just wanted to take whatever I came across and crush whoever or whatever stepped in my way. I did whatever I thought would make the lesser races subservient to me.”

  “Why would you do all of that though?” Meisha asked. “Why enslave races? What's the point?”

  Fubuki shook her head, not looking her in the eyes. “I don’t know, it was just what my hunger told me to do. I wanted them to be mine. I couldn’t understand the lesser races, didn’t recognize their kindness or actions. When I would first land on a planet or in a system, races would greet me with open arms. I’d just start killing them until they bowed to me.”

  Meisha shook her head. “Fubuki you can’t have been that bad.”

  Fubuki finally met her gaze with a tortured and haunted look in her eyes. “Once a small child of the Cenonian people stood while I walked through my newest city, surveying my newest slaves. Every other citizen lined their walkways bowing like I had demanded, but this small child stood. Not out of defiance. Its mother was trying to drag it back to the ground but I saw and approached. It told me that I had pretty hair and tried to hand me a small flower, more of a weed in all actuality. The child had picked it and said it was pretty like me.”

  Tears were streaming down Fubuki’s face now, and her voice had gotten unusually weak. “I ripped that child apart, Meisha.” She whispered. “I couldn’t believe such a stupid creature would defy my will. I tore it to shreds as its mother screamed and tried to fight me. I slaughtered her too, and…and...” She started sobbing, unable to fight back the tears any more. She cried hard, with gut wrenching sobs and tears creating wet spots on her clothes, and she no longer tried to wipe them away. It was loud enough to alert the others, and Serrano, Briggs and Pirique approached the sitting duo curiously. Meisha shook her head at them, hoping to warn them against saying anything. She took one of Fubuki’s hands and gave it a squeeze.

  “God I was so horrible, Meisha.” Fubuki choked out. “I crushed fleets of people trying to stop me from burning their homeworld. Forced the survivors to watch as I increased gravity on their planet and crushed their people. Ripped the atmosphere away from a planet that dared to stand up to me and watched as their children choked to death. Created a black hole in a system and laughed as a peaceful and beautiful race got torn to shreds and wiped from existence. A race that had built a statue for me and declared me as their protector after I had saved them from another. Thousands of frightened, pleading faces haunt my memory every second, seared into my brain. It's been millenia and I still can’t sleep at night.”

  “You’re obviously not that person anymore.” Meisha pointed out. “What changed in you?”

  Fubuki gave a sad laugh. “It's hard to pinpoint when I realized what I was doing. The more I killed and enslaved races, the more I realized I was alone. Every race had their others with them, all standing against me and pushing back, choosing to sacrifice their lives to save others. Some races even banded together to try and stop me. I just couldn’t understand it, but being reminded that I was alone bothered me. I tried to push that feeling away by fighting harder. My rule became much more bloodthirsty and violent, and I would kill at the slightest annoyance.”

  She shook her head with a small smile. “I could never really conquer them or their spirit. As violent and vicious as I was to them, they still wrote music and created art, even while enslaved. Some of it was even about me; this evil god coming from the heavens to smite down anybody who gazed upon her. I started to realize that no matter how hard I tried, I would never be able to own the spirit of a living being. And thus all my killing and destruction was all for nothing. My hunger was never fed, I was still alone, and even those I thought I had taken to be mine, never would be.”

  “It was the battle of Pheonia, I think, where I finally broke. Seven races had banded together to try and fight me off, and the Pheonia system was the largest one’s home. Their planet, Merci, was one of the most beautiful I had ever seen. Hell the entire system was gorgeous. It was the closest I’ve ever been to paradise in my entire life, and for the first time its beauty actually stopped me. I don’t think I had ever appreciated something like beauty before that.”

  “It wasn’t to last... As I approached, Merci detonated, followed by every other planet in the system. The races would rather die and deprive me of their planets than become my property. They left me drifting alone with nothing but a cloud of debris. I was shaken to my core. I spent a month in the system looking for any survivors or ships that escaped the blast, but there were none.”

  “I think it was then that I realized people would rather the galaxy not exist than for me to be its conqueror. I realized exactly that my hunger wasn’t for ownership, but belonging. Something I had been pushing away from myself with every death I caused. The sacrifices of the other races, the love they had for one another, it all started to make sense.”

  “When I returned to my empire, I recognized the fear everything had towards me. I saw the way they treated each other with happiness and kindness and ease, but when I approached they would freeze and did not dare to look me in the eyes. They hid when I smiled, bowed as I walked past. It would have stayed that way if not for one very brave soul. He stood up, looked me in the eyes, and told me he would be a slave no longer. Said that I might be able to keep everyone else from happiness, but he had the love of his life. That even if I killed them both, they would die happy in each other’s arms.”

  Fubuki shook her head with a small laugh. “I still don’t know where he found the courage. But at this point I was more curious than annoyed, and asked him how he dared to stand up to me like this. He replied that if I joined him and his wife for dinner, I would see. And I agreed.

  They had a few children in their home, and while it was small, the family made it cozy. It was the first time I had ever been in a family environment. It was foreign, hostile almost to my base instincts. The sharing of resources, mutual love and respect, and just the joy they had in one another’s company. During the dinner, the father looked at me and told me that no matter what I tried to do, this was his family and I could tear him away from it, but never take the love that he had for them away.”

  “This opened my eyes to something more than what my base instincts cried for. I realized how much of a monster I was in the eyes of everything. I came to understand what snuffing out a life meant. It was too much. I thanked them for the dinner and left to think on things, and the more I thought, the more I realized how evil and unforgivable I was.”

  Fubuki hesitated. “I tried to kill myself quite a few times. Threw myself into stars. Collapsed them to try and create a supernova. Nothing worked, and my guilt and shame only grew. So I left for the longest time. To reflect and fix myself, but mostly just stay out of everyone’s way. I vowed to never take another life, nor to interact with another life again. If I was gonna be cursed with loneliness, I shouldn’t have to cause suffering to anyone else to make myself feel better.”

  “But you didn’t stay that way.” Meisha pointed out. “I mean, you’re here now, you helped us. You seem bothered that these Ferronians are fighting now and you’re taking us to this Ephora place.”

  Fubuki nodded and finally wiped her eyes with her free hand. “Well when I fled I left everything and everyone in flux. I had destroyed governments and economies, and hadn’t replaced anything. So over time the races I had subjugated grew, formed their own governments again, and went to war. It was bloody and cruel, inspired by my own actions. And then the damned Draconi.” She laughed.

  “The Draconi?”

  “A race of serpent-like creatures.” Fubuki explained. “Picture a human, but they are a snake. Excellent scientists and thinkers, and some of the most intelligent people in the galaxy. They’re against violence and bloodshed. I actually think they aren’t capable of harming another being.

  Well, when this war broke out the Draconi came looking for me. It took them hundreds of years but they found me drifting around a small star, trying to kill myself with its radiation. They knew only a god could stop this war, and knew that I was their only option. I was a mess when they found me, which was a good thing. They were able to convince me to help, and as I traveled back with them, they were able to teach me about what life really was. They helped me carve out my place in the universe.”

  “How?” Meisha asked.

  “They showed me what I could use my strength and intelligence for. How I didn’t have to be alone. How there was more than one way to rule an empire. And how to help others. When I finally arrived and ended the war, the galaxy was in shambles. The Draconi propped me up and called me things like “Queen” and “Mother of Peace”.

  We all knew it was a lie, but renaming my nature was a start. I helped organize system governments and rebuild planets and economies. Mediated between peoples to prevent war and slaughter. After a thousand years of being among them and guiding them, I grew to love the other races. They were still mine, but now they willingly chose to invite me into their spirits, and celebrated me.”

  “I began traveling around as things settled down and the governments grew stable. Living among the races to get a sense of their culture. Enjoy their art, food, and lifestyles. It was delightful. Made a lot of friends, which was something I had never had before. I still fight against my base instincts every day; the urge to take and kill and dominate, but I understand my place more now, and know that this is a better way of living.”

  Fubuki sighed, and looked back at Meisha. “So when you’re worried about your mistakes, and it's eating at you, and you think you’re a failure? I understand that. It's awful. Sometimes you think things would be better if you could just die, then you wouldn’t have to face reality. But it's also a chance to become a better version of yourself, Meisha. This whole situation, it's a challenge for you to rise against the corruption in the Admiralty and the greedy individuals who set this in motion. Yes you made mistakes, things could have gone better. Yes you’re young and don’t have much experience. But you’ve got courage and heart, and you care about trying to do the right thing.”

  “And what if I’m not strong enough for this?”

  Briggs placed a hand on Meisha’s shoulder. “You’ve got us to lean on, Captain. You aren’t going through all of this alone, we have no idea what to do either.”

  “We’re waiting for you to recover, Meisha.” Pirique admitted. “I’m not sure there’s a better person to guide us through this.”

  Fubuki smiled. “See Meisha, you aren’t alone, and you can recover from your mistakes. We’re all in this together, myself included.”

  “Captain, your orders?” Pirique asked.

  Meisha sat there for another moment, then stood up, helping Fubuki to her feet as well. “How can we verify what Thorn is claiming?” She asked. “Pirique, you’re Admiral Vidaker’s daughter. Is this something he would even do?”

  “Oh yes.” Pirique answered with a hint of darkness in her eyes. “The man is a power-hungry devil. Thorn’s accusations don’t shock me in the least bit.”

  “Nor myself.” Serrano chimed in. “The Admiralty has played loose and fast with the government for years. Seizing control was an inevitability.”

  Briggs shook his head. “Knew I should have retired when I had the chance.”

  “Ok so this is in line with what we expected. I still want it verified before we make any sort of decision.” Meisha said calmly. “I know our quantum communications network isn’t working. Presumably we’ve been locked out. What other options do we have?”

  “We could always try tapping into the civilian quantum network.” Pirique suggested. “We wouldn’t be able to send any messages but we could receive news coverage. If what Thorn claimed is true, the news will be talking.”

  “Is that something you can do?”

  “I wanted to be a Network AI engineer.” Pirique huffed. “Dad made me join the Academy instead. “Spited him and became a data specialist instead of a captain. So yeah, that's something I can do somewhat easily.”

  Meisha nodded. “Do it then. Let's see if we can’t figure something out.”

  The news wasn’t good. The leadership of the Midnight gathered around a monitor, staring as the news anchor described the toppling of their government and the expansion of the fleet. It had been quick and brutal, with Vidaker accusing the government of corruption and executing those who resisted arrest. The military supported Vidaker and the Admiralty; anybody who would have resisted them had met similar fates the crew of the Midnight was supposed to. Cameras showed ships launching from Earth without starshots, looking like the Ferronian fleet that had jumped in as the Midnight fled Hanaloi.

  “They’ve got jump tech.” Fubuki muttered. “I’m not sure how, but somehow the Ferronians figured out how to make warp drives and shared that tech with the humans.”

  “What does that mean for us?”

  “Means they can jump anywhere from anywhere in hours instead of days.”

  “So that's bad.”

  “Yeah.”

  The broadcast continued, listing multiple ships lost in the void, the Midnight included. Apparently they had been on the forefront of an alien attack, and the Admiralty was teaming up with a friendly alien race to respond. The drums of war were beating, and there wasn’t an easy way to quiet them. Meisha shook her head sadly and glanced over at Pirique.

  “Turn it off. We have the info we need, I don’t want to see any more.” She slumped back onto her bed, and surveyed her cabin, where her most reliable crewmembers sat. Briggs and Gabriels sat on her couch, faces dark but not surprised. Serrano was unphased, messing with one of Meisha’s decorative ferns. Anderson appeared as if he might be sick and had excused himself to her bathroom, while Lupus and Pirique simply stood in silence, staring at the now blank screen. Fubuki placed a hand on Meisha’s shoulder, sitting at the edge of her bed.

  “It doesn’t look good.” She admitted.

  “No it doesn’t.” Meisha agreed. She sighed. “And I’ll be honest I’m not sure how to respond.”

  “Or how the rest of the crew will respond.” Lupus grumbled. “Some might actually side with the Admiralty here.” The room was quiet for a moment.

  “I solemnly swear.” Meisha breathed, ‘To defend the United Colonial Coalition and its people and colonies. To protect and preserve its laws and doctrines from threats foreign or domestic.” She studied everyone in the room. “Other than Fubuki and Serrano, we all took that oath when we joined the United Colonial Defense Force. And we failed. The United Colonial Coalition is gone. So the way I see it, we have three real choices here.

  We could contact the Admiralty and turn ourselves in. We’d spend the duration of this war in prison, but afterwards they’d release us, hopefully, and we’d be able to see our families again. Who knows how long that would take though, or how many people would die. Hell Fubuki might blow up Earth if she has to.”

  “I never said that.”

  “The second option is we become raiders, or pirates or mercenaries. Our oath is broken, so we don’t owe anybody anything. We could easily loot cargo ships, but without jump tech ourselves we wouldn’t be much good. We’d have to have Fubuki’s help, and a lot of us would have to abandon our pretty strong sense of morals. I personally don’t think I could do this.”

  “I have always wanted to be a pirate queen though.” Fubuki mused.

  “Both of those ideas suck.” Anderson grunted, stepping out of the bathroom. “Either we become prisoners or criminals. What sort of choice is that?”

  “Well you didn’t let me finish.” Meisha growled. She stood up and paced the room. “We take a new oath. Is that job offer still open?” She asked, looking at Fubuki.

  “It is indeed, dear captain.”

  “Fubuki’s offered us a chance to join the fight under her flag.”

  Gabriels raised an eyebrow. “And what flag is that? No use picking a side if we’re just joining another tyrant is there?”

  “You’re completely correct.” Fubuki replied coolly. “Let me tell you humans what you’ve been missing. The Federation is an intergalactic government formed by yours truly to help keep peace between all the intelligent things in this galaxy. It has about fifteen major races, and is run by a senate of representatives selected from each race. I watch over the meetings usually and help guide and mediate their squabbling. This Federation has lasted three thousand years without conflict. A streak only recently broken.

  Unfortunately, the Ferronians are resilient and breed like earth rabbits. They’re five times larger than the next population, and seem to be hardwired for military service. They made up eighty percent of our defense fleet. Which, in hindsight…”

  “Kind of dumb.” Meisha admitted. Fubuki gave a slight nod of her head.

  “Well I never thought that they’d scheme with humans, that's for sure. Nor the other races push them into Humanity’s arms.”

  “So who would we be fighting, and what would we be fighting for.” Lupus cut in. Fubuki raised an eyebrow at him.

  “Everything, of course.”

  “What?”

  “I need to rebuild my fleet. It's going to be underwhelming right now. To do that I need a new flagship and a new Commander. I want that to be the Dauntless Midnight. We can give you the crew you need, the supplies to actually be effective.”

  “Having a human leading your Federation fleet isn’t the best idea.” Serrano mused. “Won’t the federation see humans as a greedy and aggressive race?”

  “They aren't?” Fubuki asked, her eyes sparking with playfulness. “Regardless, I disagree. I think having Meisha as my Commander and the Midnight as my flagship is perfect. I doubt every human captain and soldier agrees with what's going on, but right now it's humans and Ferronians against everyone else. So we take away the unifying element by adding Meisha as the face of the resistance. She’s young, good-looking and a known hero from Earth. We plant a seed of doubt in them. Question that they’re doing what's right for their people. If even a few ships leave the human fleet and join, we’ve turned it from a split fight into a civil war. More ships will follow, meaning we have a lot more of a chance to resolve this with Earth and humanity, and bring them into the Federation once this is all over.”

  “Which leads me to ask: why was humanity never invited into the Federation?” Pirique asked.

  Fubuki shrugged. “Because you humans were busy, and I wasn’t quite sure if I wanted you.”

  “Wanted us?”

  “Yep.” The Dragon stated matter of factly. “When I first found your species, you were too busy throwing rocks at each other and fighting over dirt. I saw a lot of myself in you; the desire to conquer, to make known the unknown and take what you wanted. A lot of the other races I’ve found aren’t default aggressive. They need to be pushed to violence. With humans, you seem to thrive in it.” She was quiet for a moment. “In the past, I thought about destroying your planet to preserve the others. It was bound to happen eventually.” Everyone in the room stared at her silently.

  “Are you blaming us for this war? For your own ‘Ferronians’ attacking our people at Hanaloi?” Briggs asked incredulously. Fubuki stared him dead in the eyes.

  “They wouldn’t have attacked without the blessing of your leaders.”

  There was a loud bang as the crew turned to see Meisha put her head against the wall. “It's been five minutes.” She muttered. “And we’re already tearing at each other’s throats. This isn’t real.”

  “Is she always this much of a drama queen?” Fubuki said with a faint smile.

  Meisha clapped her hands together and turned. “Right, Ferronians have killed humans, they had help from the admiralty. Both are the enemy.”

  “Correct, Meisha. Long story short, having humans leading my fleet builds trust and interaction with the other races, convinces other humans to join us and will aid in rebuilding when those leading this war are destroyed. Ending this war will not be bloodless, but with you as my speartip, it can be less destructive.”

  “There will be those who look back at us and ask why we didn’t do this or that.” Briggs muttered. “Why didn’t Fubuki just jump them to Earth or couldn’t she have just wiped out the fleet herself?”

  “I could try and do both of those things, but either action ends up convincing Earth that the Admiralty was right to fear other races. This is the longer, more complex road, and admittedly the harder one. But I feel as if it's also the best one for long term stability.”

  Meisha gazed at her crew. Her friends. “I’ve already got my mind made up.” She admitted. “I don’t see any other way I fall into things. This way I’m still fighting for Earth and my home, and still hoping to reform the UCC. The Admiralty got a lot of innocents killed and is gonna cause even more damage. I can’t accept that. Nobody else signed up for this though, and I won’t think any less of you if you don’t want to join Fubuki or I. We’ll drop you off at Ephora, and you can go your own way from there.”

  “Not much of a choice.” Serrano pointed out. “Either stick with you or become stranded on an alien planet.”

  “You’d be treated well.” Fubuki promised. “But we can’t exactly just drop you off on Earth without repercussions.”

  “True.” The doctor admitted. “Well with how much Meisha is prone to getting herself injured, it's best I stick along for the ride. I’m sure she’ll need my services again.”

  Briggs grunted and began to leave the room, with Lupus and Gabriels in tow. Meisha stared at them, stunned. “Uh, guys?” She asked. Lupus looked back at her.

  “You don’t even need to ask, Captain.” He grunted. “I’ve always wanted to shoot an admiral. We’ll be ready to deploy wherever you need us.”

  “And so will I.” Pirique affirmed. “I’ll relay information to the rest of the crew and make sure everybody knows their choices and the stakes. We all need to be focused, or none of us will make it.”

  Meisha gave her a nod, and looked at Anderson. The man seemed exhausted, but gave her a toothy smile. “And I had best check our weapons systems. I have a feeling that we’re going to be needing them.”

  As her crew left, Meisha felt herself untense as she realized she had been holding her breath. She didn't know what her crew leaders would choose, and she was terrified of losing their experience and support. Now that she knew her pillars of strength would be with her, she felt much better about her decision. She finally breathed out, and Fubuki gazed at her.

  “Nervous about your new position, dear captain?” She said with a playful tone in her voice.

  “Nah, what could go wrong?” Meisha laughed back. She shook her head. “Fubuki I’m not sure I’m cut out for this, but I’ll try my damned hardest not to let you down.”

  “Don’t try for me, Meisha. Try for your crew and your home. You’ll make mistakes. Just remember it's not the end, and there’s always another chance.”

  “Until there isn’t.”

  “You won’t stop fighting until then. I know that’s true.” Fubuki said, and looked away. “We’ve been traveling for a few days now. How much longer do you think you’ll need until we arrive at Ephora?”

  Meisha thought for a moment. “Give the rest of the crew time to make their decisions, and then we’ll be ready. We’re as repaired as we can be. Hopefully Ephora doesn’t attack us on sight.”

  “Even if they do, it won’t matter.” Fubuki said with a smile. She walked to the door and glanced back. “Get some rest, Meisha. I’ll wake you before we arrive.”