Shadow of the Blue Ring

By Jerome Kelly

It has been six years since the final battle of the revolution. James Tavarez is now a captain in the Earth Nations Fleet but he has found that it is not quite the life that he had imagined it would be. Instead of excitement and adventure, he is now confined to endless routine patrol and escort missions. While taking some much needed time off from the fleet, James finds himself unexpectedly summoned by the leaders of the alliance council who have some disturbing news for him. Alliance ships have started going missing on the borders of the uncharted Blue Ring sector and the leaders of the alliance council have chosen him to undertake a mission to discover the truth behind it.

After having reassembled his old team from six years ago, James journeys out into the uncharted reaches of space in a search for answers but what he discovers when he arrives is beyond anything he could have expected and he and his crew quickly find themselves in a desperate fight for their lives against a mysterious and deadly enemy. It soon becomes apparent that there are some secrets in the galaxy that should have remained buried forever

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Jan 6, 2014
• ISBN: 9781491887653

Jerome Kelly

Jerome Kelly, born 10th November, 1988, is a british science-fiction writer. He has wanted to become a writer from a very young age, writing the initial story-line for his series of books since he was 14 and then adapting it for several years before finally being published. He is currently a third year criminology and forensics student at the university of Hull and writes his books alongside his studies.

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© 2014 by Jerome Kelly. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 12/19/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4918-8764-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-8765-3 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

Chapter 1 Many Days Past

Chapter 2 The Grand Farewell

Chapter 3 The Will of the Council

Chapter 4 The Reunion

Chapter 5 The Evening Star

Chapter 6 The Ghost Ships

Chapter 7 The Blue Ring

Chapter 8 An Unknown War

Chapter 9 The Twilight City

Chapter 10 The Hunters and the Hunted

Chapter 11 An Unlikely Alliance

Chapter 12 Return to Raylia

Chapter 13 Old Tricks and New Enemies

Chapter 14 The Ambush

Chapter 15 The Forgotten Homeworld

Chapter 16 The Prodigal Son

Chapter 17 The Heart of the Blue Ring

Chapter 18 The Final Piece of the Puzzle

Chapter 19 The Supernova

Chapter 20 A Favour Repaid

About the Author

Chapter One

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Many Days Past

The journey had not been a short one. Almost three days had passed since the Churian exploration flotilla had left the docks at their homeworld and begun their trip into the darkness of an unknown region of space. There were very few among the crew knew the true nature of this mission. For them it was just another assignment but for captain Arion Carmona, the very thought of the mission made his hair stand on end and sent chills up his spine. In just a few minutes time, he and his crew would arrive in a derelict and uncharted system, the location of which was known only to a few very high ranking officials within the Churian government and the newly reformed Alliance council. As far as missions went, this one was about as top secret as it could get.

With all senior officers onboard being called back to the bridge, captain Carmona left his quarters and made his way to his ship’s command deck. As he passed through the corridors of his ship, he observed the faces of his crew. They seemed calm, unafraid, as if this mission was simply another routine exploration within the borders of the Galante sector. If only they had known what he and his command crew had known, perhaps they may have felt very differently about their presence in this region of space.

Captain on the bridge! Came the usual call from one of his officers, a formality common to every ship in each of the alliance fleets.

As you were, Carmona gave his usual response to send the crew back to work, taking his seat in the captain’s chair as he did so. He had arrived just in time for the blue waves of hyperspace surrounding the ship to begin to dissipate and for the stars to become visible once more through the forward windows of the ship. The small flotilla, five exploration vessels and one protector-class warship in total, was now in orbit around a grey-black and barren looking planet. It was difficult to believe that he and his crew had been sent all this way, far away from explored regions of space, for a place such as this. It wouldn’t even have appeared any different to the known regions of space had it not been for the great nebula, visible to them from half way across the sector. The nebula’s real name was unknown, the races of the alliance simply referred to it as ‘the Blue Ring’ mainly due to it’s colour and shape.

We’ve arrived at the designated co-ordinates, sir, the ship’s helmsman announced to the bridge, the fleet is out of warp and awaiting your orders.

Do a full sensor sweep of the system, said Carmona, if we can locate the target, prepare the research teams for deployment to the surface. If not, we move to the second set of co-ordinates.

Yes sir, beginning sensor sweep now.

Whether they would find what they were searching for in this system was anyone’s guess. Since the downfall of the Antalaea empire five centuries ago, the Blue Ring sector had not yet been explored by the races of the old alliance. It was too far out from the known areas of space to be a priority and as such, no one had yet seen fit to send an exploration team into the region. Carmona and his team were the first ones to make their way out here since the end of the Jaiytid-Xerion war.

We’ve detected signs of a Jaiytid ruin on the planet below, the ship’s science officer informed him, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had fallen on the bridge

Any indications that our target is present at the ruin?

We’re not picking up any distinctive signals from the planet’s surface so it’s impossible to tell for certain. What can confirm is that there is indeed a Jaiytid ruin on the surface of the planet.

Very well, we’ll have to take a look, said Carmona, have the science ships prepare to land on the surface and begin a survey of the area down there. We will remain in orbit and keep watch over the system in case we have any unwanted visitors stumbling across us here. While we’re out here, I want long range sensor sweeps in all directions. We should probably try to get a better idea of our surroundings.

With any luck, they would be in and out in as little time as possible. If they were really lucky, they would find what they needed and be back en route to the Valoran sector within just a few hours. People within the old alliance had been full of superstitions about the unexplored region of the galaxy outside of the core sectors. There were stories of ghosts, phantoms and all kinds of unexplained phenomena surrounding every unexplored region of space all the way from the Blue Ring sector to the Silkhen veil on the far side of the Varduran sector. Carmona himself dismissed these rumours as nothing more than traveller’s tales and superstitions though. He did not believe in any such things even if the continuous speculation was enough to unsettle one or two members of his team, not least his first officer, commander Luquen Velez. He had looked particularly uncomfortable ever since the fleet had left Churo.

You look troubled commander, Carmona said to him, you still have your doubts about this mission?

I do, sir, Velez replied, I still stand by what I said to you before we set out. The council had no right to get involved with something like this and no right to send us out here in these circumstances.

I will admit that this is an unusual move by the council, Carmona agreed, but regardless, we have our orders, we have to see the mission through. I trust you will not have any difficulty carrying out your orders.

No sir, none at all, Velez said irritably, I simply wish that it be noted in any logs or mission reports that both myself and the rest of the command crew are opposed to the council’s decision to send us out here.

Consider it noted, commander, said Carmona, but until there is some reason otherwise, we will remain here and finish the mission, as per our instructions.

As much as he would have loved to stay at home on Churo, he had a duty to the fleet and to the council. He could not refuse a direct order from one of his superiors in the fleet, never mind a direct order from the leader of the council himself. They would complete the mission, regardless of their opinions of the council’s decision and regardless of the mass hysteria regarding this uncharted and unknown region.

The rather chilly atmosphere continued to pervade the bridge over the next hour as the crew monitored the progress of the science ships that had now landed on the planet’s surface. The research teams had disembarked and had begun their surveys of the of the Jaiytid ruin, sweeping the area for any sign of the thing that they had been sent out there to find. No one spoke much, the crew simply observed as the first pictures of the ruin on the surface were beamed back to the ship.

Anything to report? Carmona eventually asked, joining his team at the monitoring station on the bridge, have our teams found anything in the ruins tot suggest that our target is here?

Nothing yet sir, his science officer replied, from what we can see, it’s no more than rubble and dust down there. Anything valuable in this place looks like it was destroyed along with the rest of the settlements or was looted soon afterwards.

The pictures they were receiving of the ruin seemed to suggest as much. It was as if what had once been maybe a small settlement or outpost on the surface had been wiped off the face of the planet, most likely by the ancient Xerions during their war with the Jaiytids.

We’ll give the team a chance to do a full sweep of the ruin, said Carmona, if the search doesn’t turn up any results, have them return to the ships and we’ll have the fleet move to the next location. What about our long range scans? Have we detected signs of any other possible sites in the region?

No sir, this is the only potential site within sensor range, our scans haven’t shown up any interesting results for the surrounding systems. There is not one other life-bearing world for many light years in any direction and no sign of any Jaiytid signatures.

The reports that I read indicated that there was at least one major Jaiytid world in this sector, said Velez, perhaps we should have begun our search there instead?

We’ll get to each location in time, said Carmona, I don’t like being here any more than you do but we still need to be patient and search each potential world as we come to it. We’ll all be back home before you know it.

If only commander Velez and the rest of his crew had shared his optimism, they were becoming more and more unsettled by the minute. As much as Carmona would have understood the council’s wish to keep the rest of his team in the dark about the true nature of the mission, he had requested that they be filled in on the details, even if it had gone on to make his life a little more difficult in dealing with their hysteria. Regardless, he would have hated to have dragged them out here without them having a clue what was going on.

Another hour passed and the research teams on the surface had still not turned up any interesting results. Their report seemed to indicated that the entire ruin had been stripped of anything valuable and was now completely empty. Whoever or whatever had done it had clearly left no trace behind, only a dead and empty ruin.

Have all the research teams return to their ships, Carmona said to his men on the surface, we’ll conclude our business here and move onto the next set of co-ordinates.

For all we know, the other sites could be just as barren and empty as this one, said Velez, if someone has got here before us, then its likely they have done the same thing that we plan to do, search every possible world until they find the thing we’re looking for.

We don’t know that it was taken, not yet, said Carmona, besides, who would have been able to clean out these ruins anyway? No other alliance race has ever sent a team out here before, we’re the first ones here since the downfall of the old empires.

My money is on the Vulians, said Velez, they had some pretty impressive tech on their side during the war, who’s to say they didn’t…

Velez had been cut off there. The crew was immediately distracted by a wave of static that had quickly passed over them and disrupted the ship’s instruments for a few moments.

Report!

Just a random fluctuation, his tactical officer informed him, probably just a random space anomaly of some sort. For all we know, the region is full of them.

Keep doing long range scans, I want to know what’s out there and if it’s harmful to our ships, said Carmona, send word to the ground team to hurry up and get off the surface, I think it’s time we got ourselves moving forward.

Will do now sir, said the comm officer, this is CES Narena calling ground teams, come in please… repeat, this is CES Narena calling ground teams, respond please…

What’s going on? Why aren’t they answering?

I don’t know sir, the comm officer replied, we seem to have lost contact with the survey and research teams… I can’t get a lock on their signal anywhere on the surface.

Carmona was quick to join his officer at his station to review it for himself. The screens showed no sign of the ground teams or their ships anywhere on the surface. It was as if they had dropped off the grid entirely.

That can’t be right! Carmona exclaimed, they were there just a minute ago, how can they have just vanished like that?

Captain, I respectfully suggest they we get ourselves out of here right now, Velez insisted.

Not without the ground teams, Carmona shot back at him, do a penetrating sensor sweep of the landing zone, find our people down there. I wont leave until we know what happened to them.

Sir, our sensors are not responding, his science officer quickly piped up, all I’m reading is static.

We’ve got no communications on any frequency either, his comm officer hurriedly added, all our systems are going dead!

Every screen on the bridge was going blank, replaced by nothing but static. Carmona began to panic, whatever had hit them had crippled their systems and they were blind to everything going on around them. This was the last thing they needed while on their own and a long way from home. Perhaps Velez and the rest of the command crew had been right after all, this mission had been more dangerous that it had been made out to be.

Helmsman, turn us around, get us out of the system. Get us to Tolis with with all possible haste!

The ship began to move but no sooner had it done so, it was rocked violently, throwing most of the crew off their feet, Carmona forced to grab onto his chair just to stay upright.

What was that?! He exclaimed, what just hit us?

No one replied, everyone’s attention had been drawn to the front of the ship. A silhouette was covering the light from the system’s star, casting a shadow over them, a massive outline that was getting larger by the second. All Carmona could do was stop and stare out at the growing shadow before them.

Mercy save us… he gasped as the light in front of them faded completely.

*     *     *     *     *

James awoke with a start, cold, shaking and covered in sweat. It was the fourth time during the week that he had been plagued by an unusual dream, the meaning of which he still could not quite understand. Slowly, he sat up, rubbing his eyes as he went, trying to remove all of the sleep and clear his vision. Once again, he had been forced to relive the events of his final battle on Vulia during his sleep that night. Even though it had been almost six years since that fateful day on the homeworld of the great enemy of his people, he still remembered every moment of it as if it had happened yesterday. While the events of that day had often haunted his dreams during the following months, the nightmares had eventually faded away and left him able to sleep peacefully most nights… at least until a few days ago. This time though, the events were twisting themselves, happening differently each time he dreamed them, as if his mind was playing tricks on him. He was seeing the face of his late friend, Amario Richards, calling out to him from the Morning Star as it went crashing to it’s doom over the Vulian capital, Serraha. James would reach out to him and try to pull him to safety from the crashing wreck but every time he tried, he just got further and further away. As the ship crashed, he would see Amario sucked into a ball of fire and soar across the sky like a shooting star. No matter what he tried, he just could not save him.

The noise inside his head had been deafening. The fear, the anxiety and the pain that he had felt that day were all so vivid, as if no time had passed at all and he was still trapped inside that fearful day. No more though… the sound had disappeared and was once more replaced by the peace and quiet of his quarters. The only sound within the room was the faint beeping of James’s desk console. It was likely that one of his superiors was attempting to contact him.

Time alone in the past years had been very hard to come by, therefore making it all the more welcome when it eventually did come around, however brief that it may be. Ever since his admission into the fleet, James had barely had a moments rest. With the races of the newly formed Freedom alliance committing most of their resources to the rebuilding effort, it was up to the few remaining captains in the alliance fleets to keep the peace. Much of his time aboard his new ship, the Centaur, had been spent either on patrol duty, raid protection or courier duty between alliance worlds. No matter how many tasks he completed for his superiors, they always seemed to be able to find just one more thing for him to have to do. It was thankless and unglamorous work, almost unworthy of a captain with such a reputation as James now had since his legendary crusade against the Vulian empire. Everywhere he went, his name was known to the people there, spoken as if he was one of the greatest heroes in the history of the alliance.

James had often found that his new life and his new career as a captain in the newly formed Earth Nations Fleet had not quite been what he had expected. While he had once been able to act as he wished and go wherever he wanted without worrying about rules and consequences, he was now bound by the regulations of the fleet. Because he had not been subjected to the proper training courses at one of the top academies back home on Earth, he often found himself at odds with his superiors when his choices and his actions did not agree with the code he was supposed to abide by. He had received no less than six reprimands during his career with the fleet, the first of which came less than five weeks into his command when instead of making a routine patrol on the border of Dunian space, he decided to make a trip to the Naleyna system, to the planet Anduria.

During that unauthorised trip, James had been reunited with Ishamira Cavallera, the girl whom he had fallen for during his time aboard the Morning Star. He further upset the chain of command when the two of them refused to be parted, requesting that they both be allowed to return to Earth together. After heated debate between the Human and Andurian admirals, it was agreed that it was better for all parties involved if the two were allowed to remain together. At first, the two of them were assigned to serve on separate ships, only getting to spend time together between missions but once this began to put a strain on their relationship, they requested that they both be assigned to the same ship. Again, many in the fleet were opposed to this course of action but it was eventually approved by the admirals, resigned to the fact that the two of them simply operated so much better as a team than when separated.

With both James and Isha happily serving together aboard the Centaur, the two of them had been able to take their relationship to the next level. After a year and a half together, James presented Isha with a ring and, six months later, the two of them were married. It was not the celebrity wedding that many in the alliance had predicted, or in some cases hoped for, it was a quiet ceremony with close friends and family held in James’s home city of London followed by a short honeymoon on the Mediterranean.

In general, life had been good for the newlywed couple, despite the situation in the galaxy around them. None of the alliance races had come out unscathed from the Vulian occupation. The luckiest worlds had been able to recover within a year or two and begin focusing their efforts on assisting the less fortunate alliance races with their efforts where the need for resources was much greater. With the old Tolian alliance effectively dead, these races were helping each other mostly out of goodwill and the friendships that had been formed from being allies for almost a century. It was not until almost four years after the end of the occupation that the old alliance races were officially brought together by Jovan Artennes, Tasos Artennes’s father and the head of the Tolian republic. The new union was named the Freedom alliance, representing the union between all the free races of the galaxy. The only old alliance race that had not yet rejoined, unsurprisingly, was Akris, while negotiations to bring the Myazins back to the alliance had also failed. They, along with both the Shaarians and the Kulayites had decided to remain independent, likely to attempt to remain on the side of the Vulian empire should there be another galactic war at any time during the future.

As for the Vulians themselves, they had withdrawn back to the Varduran sector and had been keeping a very low profile ever since the end of the occupation. Whatever Darien had been doing in his new position as emperor of his people, he had at least kept the peace that he had promised the members of the Freedom alliance when he ended the occupation of their worlds. James still found that he had mixed feelings on the actions of his former crew member. While his actions had resulted in the murder of the Vulian hierarchy, the death of James’s close friend Amario Richards and the destruction of the Morning Star, he had also ended the many years of war between the old alliance and the Vulian empire, resulting in the first years of truce between the two sides in decades and likely saved many tens of thousands of lives in doing so. While he could appreciate the ends that Darien achieved, the means by which he had acquired them meant that James could never properly trust him again.

Shaking the memories from his mind, James pulled himself from his bed and groggily made his way over to his desk where his private terminal was continuing to interrupt the silence in his quarters. At this time in the night, it was almost always admiral Robert Jamerson, the admiral whom he answered to in the fleet. As much as he would have liked to ignore this and go back to sleep, he knew that when the admirals called him directly, there was no getting out of whatever task they had in place for him. Taking a seat at his desk, James pushed the button on his console, bringing the view-screen to life. As he did, he was pleasantly surprised to see that it was not Jamerson on the other end, but instead, the face of his old friend, admiral Michael Davidson.

With the old fleets all wiped out and none of the former admirals having survived the war, Davidson was one of the lucky few chosen to form a new board of admirals. It was quite the promotion from his former position as a colonel but his service record during the occupation years, as well as his leadership skills, was enough to make him a worthy candidate and his part in setting the revolution in motion almost assured him of his place as one of the new admirals. With very few candidates to choose from, the respective governments of Earth had been forced to choose their new admirals from some interesting places. Jamerson, James’s superior, had been part of the Board of Human Interests that made up the joint Human-Vulian government during the occupation while fleet admiral Dmitry Sytchev had formerly worked at St. Petersburg academy as an expert in war studies and officer training.

Ah, captain James Tavarez, Davidson said cheerily, it has been too long has it not?

Far too long, James agreed, but you chose your hour to call in, it’s the middle of the night.

It’s only just gone midday on my end, said Davidson, I do apologise though, I forget the differences between time zones across the galaxy sometimes.

So what is it you want admiral? James asked, still half asleep and still a little more irritable than he might usually be when fully awake, has Jamerson finally got tired of me and asked you to take over as my superior officer?

I’m just calling in on an old friend James, Davidson replied, I was hearing from the other admirals that you were having a hard time and I wanted to check in to see how you were doing.

I guess life in the fleet just never turned out to be what I thought it would be, James sighed, all this running around escorting cargo ships, patrolling borders… it’s just not the sort of thing I had imagined I would be doing when I agreed to join the fleet.

I understand it can be frustrating, said Davidson, but I’m afraid we really need those supplies. With the Shaarians hijacking three of our freighters already this year, we really can’t afford to send them out undefended. You know that if we had any daring and dangerous missions that needed undertaking, we would be coming to you first. For now, just be happy that we are no longer at war and our people are free from oppression.

James supposed that he should at least be thankful for what he had. He was captain of his own ship, he had the reputation of an alliance war hero, he had an excellent crew made up of some of the best Earth had to offer and he had a wife that would make most of the men back home on Earth rather jealous. He had it better than most if he was really honest, it was almost a little selfish of him to want more.

So how are things on your end, admiral? James asked, I know how the board works, there is always just one more thing that they need doing. Why do I get the feeling that you’re calling because have something lined up for me?

Well yes, said Davidson, there is a matter I could use your help with now that you mention it. The alliance council is attempting to open peace talks with the planet Myazar again. We’re tired of the hostilities between our two races and we want to further strengthen the peace in the galaxy by ending the needless fighting. Someone with your reputation could be a huge asset to us in this undertaking.

I thought out last attempt to make peace barely got off the ground, James pointed out, why try again so soon?

We need all the allies we can get, said Davidson, even with the peace, we know that things could come apart again very quickly. The Akrians are still shunning our attempts to bring them back into the alliance while the former allies of Vulia are continuing to disrupt our operations throughout the region at every chance they get.

James wasn’t surprised to hear of the situation with Akris. He had seen first hand how the corruption of the Vulian empire had spread among their leaders, turning their loyalty away from those who had been their allies for many decades. The Akrian government had even gone as far as to exile everyone who had remained loyal to the Freedom alliance, James’s former crew member Nemika Kristea among them. Her location was now unknown although it was rumoured that she and the remaining Akrians loyal to the cause of the Freedom alliance had taken refuge on Tolis.

The council has been even more desperate to consolidate the peace these past few weeks, Davidson continued, ever since those ships went missing out in the Blue Ring sector, a lot of people have been on edge around here.

Did they ever find out what happened to those ships? James asked. He knew of the incident in question, a group of Churian exploration ships had gone missing out in the uncharted Blue Ring sector and these was no explanation forthcoming as to why or how. He had to wonder exactly what the Churians were doing out there in the first place. It wasn’t like it was anyone’s priority to explore the area, especially with large areas even in the central Valoran and Galante sectors still mostly uncharted.

We’ll know soon enough, said Davidson, the council has dispatched a couple of Tolian battleships to the region and they should arrive within the day. They’ll track them down and bring them back and hopefully we will be able to stop this from happening again. Back to other matters though, can I convince you to join the efforts on Myazar?

Admiral, you know I would… James began, . . . but, you see, it’s general Ravenn’s retirement party coming up and I’m to be one of the guests of honour. It really isn’t something I can miss, regardless of whatever else is going on within the alliance.

Oh yes, of course, how could I forget, Davidson chuckled, blimey, I didn’t think it was for another month, time flies eh? But of course you’re right, this isn’t something you should miss. I’m guessing admiral Jamerson wasn’t too happy about this though?

He’s never happy, said James, he’s been denying my request for a holiday for months now. I guess a personal invite from Ravenn himself didn’t leave him with too many options so he had to approve it. Isha and I now get to spend a week in a galaxy class hotel in the city of Lahara, all expense paid.

I can’t deny that I’m jealous, said Davidson, when you’re a member of the board of admirals, time off becomes very sparse indeed.

I’m surprised they didn’t invite you, said James, you played your part in the events all right, we wouldn’t have got far if you hadn’t have set everything up for us to leave Earth and get to Tolis.

One of the general’s contacts did enquire about my availability however the fleet needs me here, said Davidson, besides, it was you and your crew who overthrew the occupation, this celebration is for you. I’ll be following the events from the Titan though, I’ll be staying here just incase anything comes up. You know how the unexpected always tends to pop up when you least expect it.

Since his promotion, Davidson now served on one of the largest and most powerful ships that Earth possessed, the Titan. It was one the triumvirate of massive battlecruisers that had been left behind after the Vulian occupation. With the planet free of Vulian occupation, the Human forces recovered the ships and completed their construction, giving the Earth Nations Fleet a major offensive force in the galaxy. It had certainly forced one or two of the races who tended to look down on Humans to rethink their position.

Well then, I wont keep you, said Davidson, you and Isha deserve your time off, I hope you enjoy your time in Lahara. One more thing… I will see if I can convince the rest of the admirals to look kindly on your request for some time away from the fleet. I appreciate the need to keep our best captains on top of their game.

I would really appreciate that admiral, said James, and good luck with the peace talks.

Enjoy the celebrations captain. Davidson out.

James could relax again. Once again, he could enjoy his brief moment of peace without any of his superiors to interrupt him. Jamerson had cleared him to be away for a week so it was unlikely he would be disturbed again until his holiday was over.

Let me guess, that was the admirals again?

Of course, not all distractions were bad, there were some he welcomed, namely that of his wife, Ishamira Cavallera, who had chosen to retain her Andurian surname despite their marriage. She had wanted to keep a part of her Andurian heritage even though she now lived among Humans all year long.

When is it ever not? Said James, it was only Davidson this time though, nothing too serious, he was just looking for someone to join him for the peace talks with Myazar.

And you said… ?

Well obviously I declined, James said as he made his way from his desk and back over to his bed, I told him we have more important places to be. He understands how important it is.

Well at least someone on the board is sympathetic to our feelings, said Isha, I can’t remember the last time they gave us so much as a day to ourselves. Three years we’ve been together and we barely get off the ship anymore.

We will find the time, James promised her, I assure you, I will get the board to budge eventually and once they do, we can find somewhere quiet and relax for a while, maybe even sit in the sun for a few weeks.

I hope so, said Isha, you know I picked up everything I had and left my home planet to be here with you, to be a part of this fleet. Some gratitude from those around us would be nice sometime.

James had always known that Isha was not overly fond of Earth. Technologically it was a long way behind Anduria and it still suffered from the occasional bout of corruption, gang warfare and infighting between nations that most alliance worlds were almost completely free from. Even though the Voronians had done a great deal to uplift humanity when they first came into contact with Earth, they hadn’t quite eliminated all the problems, a great many of which had actually resurfaced and worsened during the Vulian occupation.

James had also made an effort to introduce Isha to the many sports and entertainments that Earth had to offer but again, had not been successful. She was not overjoyed with his efforts to introduce her to football, her people were far more into faster and more dangerous sports such as the Systems Gala and she had suggested on more than one occasion that Earth adopts the concept of high-speed, no-holds-barred racing through a winding track in space. Getting past Human health-and-safety concerns was no easy task though, many governments claimed that it was reckless and dangerous and that lives should not be put in so much danger simply for entertainment purposes.

Sometimes I miss the good old days, said Isha, you, me and a crew of the finest the galaxy has to offer, running around the galaxy with no rules or regulations fighting to overthrow the might of the Vulian empire.

Those really were the days… James agreed, . . . but we lost so much in the last fight against the Vulians, we really don’t need another war right now. We just need to wait it out, things will get better and you can be sure I will get us that time off we’ve both been asking for.

I appreciate it, Isha smiled, something she did not seem to do enough of in recent times I guess we should be thankful to the general though, this party he’s throwing is probably going to be our only week in the sun this year. He couldn’t have picked a better time.

I know, I was just about losing hope, James agreed, and I hear Ravenn has a reputation for the eccentric. People are saying it will be the celebration of a lifetime. I can’t wait to see what he has prepared for us.

The prospect of a week away was not the only thing that had James excited for the party though. Every one of the old team from the days of the revolution had also received an invite to the party and they would likely all be reunited for the duration of the celebration. James had not been in touch with any of his old team since they had all parted ways after the end of the occupation, a fact that James found rather strange. They had made such a good team and been through so much together, he was sure that the least they might do was stay in contact once they had parted ways. As it was though, they had likely all returned to their old lives, picking up where they left off before the occupation had taken place. With any luck, they would all get to catch up again once the party started. He would be very interested to see what they had all been up to.

James slid himself back into his bed and lay his head back on the pillow. He had hoped for a night uninterrupted by the admirals, undisturbed by the dreams that had suddenly made their way into his head once more but he had not been successful. With he and Isha due to check into their hotel the next day, he had wanted to be rested up and feeling at his best. He supposed he could catch a few extra hours of sleep in the morning though, he was effectively off duty as of the previous day, only aboard his ship so that he and Isha could catch a ride to the Masar system. Everything he needed for the duration of his stay had already been packed up for him and was ready to be loaded onto the shuttle, all he needed to do now was to turn up and to enjoy the event.

Because of his reputation among the people of the alliance and the part he played in ending the war, James had a feeling that Ravenn would try to get him to say a few words at this party. As such, he had obtained one of the most lavish suits he could find. If he was going to be on show for everyone to see, he might as well look good in the process. Isha had thought the same and she had splashed out on possibly the most stylish red dress that she could find, not wanting to be outdone. They would be the envy of most couples there.

With a few more hours of sleep under his belt and feeling somewhat refreshed, James was woken by a message from the bridge of his ship letting him know they had arrived in the Masar system and at Churo. He and Isha were quick to get themselves up, dressed and ready for their trip to the surface. Even though the party was not until that night, they were both anxious to get settled into their hotel and get away from anything to do with the fleet. With their attire for the evening and all their personal belongings already packed for them, James only needed to make one last trip to the bridge before he left for Lahara.

If there was one aspect of his new ship that James could certainly not complain about, it was his crew. He had some of the very best available to him onboard the Centaur. His pilot, Jason Daniels, was one of the best, if not the best, helmsman in the fleet and a contender to be Earth’s first ever contestant in the Systems Gala. His tactical officer, Sergey Ivanov, had graduated top of his class from St. Petersburg academy and was a very adept tactician, one of the most highly recommended officers in the fleet. His communications officer, Elena Stevens was an adept linguist, being fluent in several Earth languages as well as those of the other alliance races, able to translate almost anything in an instant. Also among them were the eccentric but brilliant George Connolly, his chief engineer and also the slightly ill-tempered but well respected Anastasia Markova, the ship’s chief medical officer. They were a fine collection, probably the best team in the entire fleet.

Captain on the bridge! came the call as James made himself known on the bridge, the entire crew standing to acknowledge his presence.

As you were, he said, putting them at ease, now as you all know, I will be gone for the next week or so. During this time, lieutenant Ivanov will assume temporary command of the ship so I expect you to all be on your very best behaviour for him. That said, I’m sure you’ll all continue to make me proud in my absence. I’ll assume that admiral Jamerson has already forwarded you your next assignment so I wont keep you hanging around here, I will let you get on with things.

Before he turned to leave he stopped by Ivanov’s post to have a few words with the ship’s new acting captain.

You gonna be Ok here without me?

I’ll be fine sir, said Ivanov, I wouldn’t have accepted the position if I didn’t feel that I could handle things here for the next week. Don’t worry sir, I’ll keep the ship in good order for you.

I’m sure you will, said James, out of interest, what has Jamerson got planned for you while I’m gone? Anything more interesting than the usual?

He hasn’t said exactly what he wants from us, said Ivanov, all I know is that we’re heading back to Earth once we’re done here. Apparently we’re collecting some kind of important package, I don’t know the details yet though.

You never do with Jamerson, said James, just be sure not to piss him off while I’m gone, you know how cranky he can get when things don’t quite go according to plan.

I’ll be sure to keep that in mind, said Ivanov, I don’t suppose you have any special instructions for while you’re away?

Oh you know, Just try not to do anything I wouldn’t do.

Ok, so I’ll just overthrow the Vulian empire and liberate three alliance worlds while you’re gone then?

Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, James chuckled, just keep things ticking over in my place and try not to start a revolution. I have high hopes for you lieutenant, make me proud.

With that, he left his tactical officer in charge and departed the bridge, joining Isha as they began the walk down towards the ship’s shuttle bay. Their shuttle was all prepped and ready for them to board as they arrived. As soon as they had taken their seats and strapped themselves in, James gave the signal to his pilot that they were ready to move.

You have no idea how much of a relief it is to get off this ship, Isha said as the hangar doors opened before them to reveal the tropical world of Churo, just a short shuttle ride away.

Oh trust me, I do, said James, this trip honestly couldn’t have come any sooner for either of us.

The last time James had been on the surface of Churo, he had suffered a tragic loss, losing his friend and mentor, Malaya Karsev, the woman who had set him on his path to becoming the man he was today and who’s many lessons still influenced the captain that he had become. With all the chaos of the battle in the streets of the city, he had not had the chance to appreciate just how beautiful a world Churo was, especially the city of Maranaya. This time, however, he would be sure to enjoy every wonder that this world held for him. If the city of Lahara was anything like Maranaya in terms of beauty, it would be a very special trip.

With the ship in position, the pilot took off, taking the shuttle out into orbit around Churo and towards the surface of the planet. The holiday started here… James cracked a smile for the first time in what seemed like weeks, he was going to enjoy this.

Chapter Two

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The Grand Farewell

Despite feeling like a home to him, James had to admit that he was glad to be seeing the back of the Centaur for a while. There were times when the ship could feel like a prison, he felt unable to escape because the admirals would simply not allow him a break from the endless line of missions and assignments that just kept coming his way. Both he and Isha had been patiently waiting for this day for a while now and it was finally here, they were finally free of the fleet, at least for the rest of the week.

Well this certainly beats helping Davidson talk to the Myazins, said Isha, eagerly looking at the fast approaching tropical planet with glee, you can bet that if it wasn’t for Ravenn, we’d be spending the next week on Myazar attending one diplomatic meeting after another.

"I just hope they