I blushed."The suite did not have an auto dresser and the only civilian clothing I had was my Nifleheim stuff." I had left the fur cape behind on Nilfeheim, but I had taken my leather suit and vest and that's what I was wearing.
"I think it looks very good. I like black leather."
I wondered why a Commander was so social and friendly. Did she want something from me? I was not entirely sure if her friendliness was genuine but I decided to play along. What could happen? Having dinner on a fleet base planet with an officer of the fleet?
She presented her arm and I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. Part of me hated her for looking so good and my female side I tried so hard to suppress wished to wear a dress like that. I was suspicious of her motives too but then having a beautiful woman on my arm wasn't the worst thing in the world either.
She said."You look as if you contemplating half the problems of the Universe. If you would rather not go with me and have dinner, you can say so, I won't be offended."
As we walked to the exit of the Hotel, I sighed and said," I am sorry, Ma'am but to be honest I am trying to figure out if there is a reason why you are so nice. Don't get me wrong, I sure appreciate it but you are a Commander and I am a Midshipman."
She looked at me from the side." I am also a woman and you are very handsome. Neither of us is wearing uniform and I am hungry and rather go out with nice company than eat alone. I am usually not known to be nice, rather the opposite. It is part of being a JAG Investigator and Prosecutor."
Outside the hotel a cold dry breeze blew from the desert and she pulled the fur stole over her naked shoulders. Somehow I found this unconscious move of her very feminine and attractive and said."Well I am hungry too. The last thing I ate was breakfast on the Madrid and that was even before I took my shift."
The doorman of the Hotel waved us a Taxi and she said while it approached." You had a duty shift on the Madrid? I was under the impression you were just a passenger."
We entered the cab and she said to the operator." Antonio's ristorante please."
I answered her question." Yes I was a passenger, but Captain K'Tngnk let me take helm and I was on that station for those four days."
"I know that Ant. He is a stickler for Navy traditions and by the book as you can be. So K'Tngnk let you steer his beloved Madrid?"
"Yes Ma'am."
"You know you could call me Gwen if you like while I am not in Uniform."
The Taxi floater dropped us off a moment later before the glass door of a warmly lit restaurant. Something smelled delicious even out here in the cold air. I opened the door for her and a thin tall man with a black pencil beard greeted us and he knew Gwen as he said." Your favorite table is waiting for you Bella Signorina and I just got a delivery of fresh mussels from Nuovo Napoli."
He waved and a green scaled Saurian, distant relatives to the Shiss, in black tuxedo guided us to a table that had the illusion of being outside, with torches flickering in the wind and a whispering fountain. The view was over an ocean and a single big moon was hovering over the horizon, a picturesque village and fishing boats on its shore below. There were several other tables and about three quarters of the restaurant was filled with guests. The Sauron lit the candle on our table and then handed us the menus, a printed list sandwiched between two stiff leather covers, not a touch and choose display.
She took off the fur stole and her strapless dress emphasized her ample breasts and produced a nice cleavage."I recommend the mussel as an appetizer and then either a Pizza Napoli with seafood topping or Antonio's famous Spaghetti Di Mare."
"I know Pizza, but I am always open for new things and I do love fish. Why don't you order then? It is the first time I am at an Italian restaurant. I guess they serve Pizza for those who don't know Italian?"
She giggled." Eric, Pizza is an Italian invention. I think you should try the Pizza then and then you know what a real Italian Pizza is."
"No I didn't know. Italy is a Saresii tradition?"
She was still amused and her eyes sparkled in the candle light." No Italy is a national region on Terra, Old Earth." She made a gesture towards the projected scenery." This is a view from Antonio's home. The ocean you see is called the Mediterranean Sea and that village really exists and hasn't changed much for thousands of years. Saresii food is very bland and I am not too fond of it, but then I am not exactly Saresii."
The waiter interrupted us and she ordered and asked me if I liked wine and I told her I never had any except Seaweed Berry Wine and I didn't like that too much.
After he disappeared I said." I thought you said something about Saresii in the JAG lobby and you sure look like one."
She reached for a baked stick thing that was on the table and nibbled on it." The Saresii are very similar to us and I choose that look as my civilization is not well known in the Union. I am from Coven."
I shrugged." I am not the best in Xeno culture and I never heard of Coven, but then not many know of Nilfeheim either."
"That is true, there are so many member civilizations and planets, and no one could possibly know them all."
"My friend Narth, he tries hard to memorize the entire GalNet Content."
Her left eyebrow rose slightly." Yes I have read that in your file, you are friends with the first Narth that ever joined the Navy."
Again I got this suspicious feeling." I sure don't want to spoil things and a nice evening, but this is not some sort of investigation?"
"No it is not, but I was preparing the case for the Admiral and I have studied the case in great detail and since you are the pivot point in this case. I had to study your file."
The waiter brought the wine and made a little show opening the bottle by hand using some sort of knife tool, removing a stopper sniffing at it and pouring me a very little amount in a glass. Then he stepped back and waited for something.
She pointed to the glass."He wants you to taste the wine if it is okay, only then will he fill our glasses."
So I sipped and it did taste not bad at all, and quite different from the Kelp wine I knew." Yes its drinkable."
He poured two glasses and left.
I looked at her." So you know everything about me and I know nothing about you and this is not about the case?"
"I know the dry facts of a personnel file and that is not knowing everything about you and no the investigation of the case is closed. We needed to make sure the defense council had no ammunition to discredit you. The evidence is overwhelming and we would not even need your testimony, to make the case stick and get Stone and Swybar convicted, but it is not every day we prosecute an Admiral and a Commander and the charges are so severe that after a verdict the sentence will be the death penalty. This means the defense will try anything and while I am of the prosecution team and I know what had happened to you and I want justice done, I am glad there is a good defense, so justice is done correctly. I like these forms of checks and counterchecks of this legal system and I think that it is an important part that makes our Union special."
"I am still sore at what happened to me, but if it was only me that got hurt. I would not want them to die, but they caused my best friend terrible harm and that I won't forgive them."
I took a sip of the wine and said."I have firsthand experience of a public execution and it was something that I don't like to see repeated."
"Yes I have read that in your file. The Justice Department has sent us the report on that and it was full of praise for you and they carry you still on the books as Deputy Executioner."
The food came and the savory smell dispelled the dark memories and the mussels were delicious. The Pizza was even better, it was topped with fishy things and I could taste real fire was part of the cooking process.
After dinner she asked me a bit about the Academy and Olia and she told me about the impact her call to her father had made. To have this part of the story confirmed by someone else made me even more appreciate my friend's efforts and I promised myself to send all of them at least
a message and see how they were doing.
After a few more drinks and a nice desert with coffee. I felt alright with the world and we went back to the hotel. In the lobby she said, holding my hand." I had a lovely evening and you are so much more than even the sum of your file. It is true you don't know much about me, but I will make that up to you very soon."
"Do you want to come up to the suite? I think it has a bar and we can have a final drink maybe?"
"I would like that very much." She kissed me on the cheek, "but I must rise early tomorrow and I want you to get to know the real me before we go the next step and the next step would follow if we go upstairs." What she said had a mysterious undertone and I was almost certain she was hinting at something I did not understand and I knew what she meant by the next step.
"I thank you for the great evening and the marvelous food experience and I guess the next time I see you it is Ma'am and Commander again, right?"
"I am afraid so, but after the case is over. I want you to get to know me a little better and what happens after that we will see…"
Interlude: Events at Fornax Cluster
In all these years it was the first Stahl ran to reach the bridge of the Devi, he had barely made it back aboard and was still wearing his battered combat suit as he stomped with augmented muscles and eight tons of Terran battle gear on the bridge. Harris just informed him that another wave of Y'All ships was approaching. His mighty ship shuddered and he heard the Harris ordering all attack wings to be deployed. He reached the bridge. Harris had disappeared inside his command chair now in full battle mode. Stahl anchored his suit boots to the deck plates and switched to prime command channel. The Scanner Operator said with a calm voice." Two hundred six units, Captain. "
Stahl was confident the Devi could deal with even this number, but the Translocator bomb magazines would be depleted and there would be damage and casualties among the attack wings. This was what the Devi was made for and his crew knew how do dish out death and destruction. He had send and let countless loyal beings into battle before, but every life lost was a painful scar on his old soul.
"Primary shields at 40 percent, the Y'All concentrating fire on the weak aft shields. Delta Wing has lost four Wolfcraft." The XO reported.
Stahl noticed dozens of Y'All ships suddenly bursting into millions of pieces! As if disassembled part by part, in a fraction of a second, yet there were no explosions.
A new ship had appeared, perfectly spherical without any markings or anything that would disturb the perfect surface.
He stared at the screen and the dark gray spherical ship of a thousand meters diameter, this was a Narth sphere. He had seen one only once before and that too was 1500 years ago. Y'All weapon fire poured into that sphere and there were no visible shields. The Y'All ships carried weapons very similar to the Unions' second most potent weapon, faster than light Directed energy projectors and each shot poured the raw energy equivalent of a solar eruption into the shields of the Devastator. Yet the Y'All fire splashed of the Narth sphere as if someone was using a water-squirter against a granite boulder."
Interlude: The Herald
The Call has been made and the Herald was about to complete the first part of the mission. He had been sent in advance to gauge the strength of this union and to secure the secret of the weapon that was able to defeat the Y'All. He had not been sent alone, but with him he had 300 mighty Y'All ships crewed not only by a new generation of Y'All warriors, but also by a large number of cloned beings, called the Kermac. It was decided that the Y'All should be led this time by an intelligent species with considerable Psionic talents. So one thousand Kermac had been cloned of the old DNA that was still on file from the previous attempt to invade that Star spiral to destroy and obliterate any species that could be capable of being the host for the Dark One. It was simple, if the Dark One could not find a suitable host to reincarnate; the Dark One would stay slain and defeated forever. The other way was to find the twelve token of power and destroy them, make sure they could not be reunited, but to find these token was nearly impossible as they could be anywhere and not even the Lords of Light knew how they looked like or how to find them. As the Uni were driven out of that Galaxy, by the old foe they had left the seeds for a new Universal collect behind on a world its natives called Koken. The Ker native to this world were destined to develop into the next Universal Collective and they had squandered their holy task! The Herald smashed one of his fists on the armrest of his seat. He would not have to be born so painfully if those cursed Ker understood what they had to accomplish and what they were destined to become. But thankfully the Uni had not set all hope on one species, but set up the Crucible so far away from that ill destined spiral star isle. The crucible was the birthplace of the Yah-ha Al, which meant Celestial Soldiers in the ancient language of the Universal Collective and recently had become the birthplace of the Herald. The survivors of the first invasion had passed on the name over many generations and the name had been changed during the passage of time, they were now known as the Y'All by their enemies and the name was synonymous with fear!
The Herald as confident he was on the surface that the Crucible would prevail and accomplish what the Uni had decreed, and he had reported his success to the Crucible, but inside deep down he was anything but confident. He had only seen a glimpse of that Union. They had developed much faster and much stronger than anticipated. Not only did they possess powerful weaponry and shields, but everyone was able to communicate instantaneously across the entire Union region. He turned and looked at the crucified human hanging in the back of his ships command room. He was barely alive, tortured to great extend by the expertly skill of the Herald. "Tell me about your Union, Commander."
The blood caked, swollen face of the man rose an inch and he mumbled," Commander Richard Brady United Stars of the Galaxy Navy, born January 4th 4978 on Limerick, Service number 04014978-RB-938483329."
"Your strength amazes me and yet it is wasted. At the Crucible we will clone your body and copy all your knowledge in that new brain without those impressive Psionic safeguards and your new self will freely talk. We do this sort of thing for a long time and we are quite efficient now."
The Station commander of the Fornax Hub actually managed to put a painful grin on his swollen face." It is your outfit that is fecked raisin face. You picked the wrong guys for a fight!"
"You keep saying that and yet you are here and you were unable to stop us."
"A single Ranger dragged your ass in, shot your shit pile looking ship to bits and it took thousands of you to get a few hundred of us. Do the math you dumb brute, you're fecked."
The Herald looked at the neural map of the Commanders body, selected a nerve cluster and activated pain impulses of burning flesh in his brain. The Union officer finally screamed after he added a second cluster and he broke another tooth and sacked in his shackled. The Herald stimulated the Nerves again and made the Commander regain consciousness. The Commander laughed! Then the tortured men said. "The truth is hard to swallow and you show your impotence against a single helpless man."
"I said tell me about this Union of yours. How many ships of this Barracuda Ship type do you have? How many of these mechanical combat soldiers?"
"That little Destroyer caused much mayhem to your mighty asses, didn't it? And eight old Class IX Cerberus took a lot of your ugly friends out before they even got to you."
The Herald had to admit these Battle machines were quite formidable. They lost over a thousand troops before these Machines could be destroyed.
The Commander found the strength to extend his right middle finger in an ancient very vulgar Terran hand sign. "That was a single destroyer. Wait till you see Ultra Battleships hunting you and you will wish to undo all you did when Marines and XIV Class Cerberus rain on that Crucible of yours."
"Impossible! You don't even know how to traverse your own Galaxy let alone set foot into another Galaxy."
"You really don't know anything. We have member spe
cies in the Andromeda galaxy and there is steady traffic between both Galaxies."
The genetic enhanced brain of a Kermac was floating in his Communications Device. Using its Telepathic abilities the Herald was able to contact the Crucible and also talk to the Strike force he had left behind. His devices simulated a Kermac voice organ and it interrupted him."Herald of the Crucible, the Kermac and Y'All you ordered to destroy anyone coming to investigate the fate of the space station report the arrival of a Union ship. It identified itself as the USS Devastator and the being hailing is Stahl!"
The Herald knew about the legend of that Human warrior and a mystical ship that supposedly helped stop the last invasion. "Impossible that was 1500 years of their time ago. Perhaps it is an inherited name or title."
"The ship is immense and under shields we cannot analyze, the being Stahl immediately knew we were Kermac."
As impossible as it was, the tortured commander raised his head fully and looked at the Herald with his one remaining eye full of defiance and such spirit that even the Herald felt it." That's it Raisin face, your goose is cooked. The Devi is here and Stahl! He'll find you!"
"You might as well hear what will transpire. That ship will be destroyed, there are 266 ships of immense power against one and they are crewed by the trained and engineered Kermac clones and half a million new Y'All warriors." The Herald sounded proud and confident. Yet no matter what he told the human he could not seem to break his spirit.
"You lost 24 ships against my Starbase and a single Barracuda and you think those few ships left will make the Devi even get a scratch, Buster you in for a surprise!"
The Herald cooked in silent anger as he listened to the mounting casualty reports, but then it was him as he heard the strange shields of that big ship finally were about to buckle.
Eric Olafson Series Boxed Set: Books 1 - 6 (The Galactic Chronicles Series) Page 278