Rivers nodded. “Indeed we do, Jarrod! But we won’t have time to mourn our dead right now. This was only one small part of the Azairi’s armada. The rest of the Azairi are still out there…in our space. We’re going to have to take the battle to them. We’re going to force them out of our star systems, out of our space, and back to where they come from…then make damn sure they stay there this time! We’ve made some new friends as a result of the Azairi invasion. The Saurians, the Mazars, and the Craosi who fled their worlds are willing to stand with us and battle the Azairi. And there may be other races, our ‘distant cousins’ through the Z’Laan, who will join us. And that’s where you come in, Captain Caulder.”
Jarrod, who had been taking a sip of whiskey suddenly choked on his drink. “Captain? Did you just say ‘captain’, sir?”
“I think we better have Charlotte check his hearing, James,” said Bradley with a grin. “He doesn’t seem to be hearing very well.”
“Yes, Jarrod…captain! You’ve earned it,” Rivers replied. “Mac told me of your exploits in search for the Z’Laan, working with Harlu Az, and during the battle. You’ve earned it…but you’ve also earned a tough assignment.”
Jarrod straightened in his chair. “Yessir! What assignment?”
Rivers took another sip of his drink before he spoke. “We’re rushing repairs to all of our vessels, especially the Europa II. Your first stop is a visit to the Primary Armory to speak with Harlu Az. We need more war ships and crews…as quickly as possible. But, I also need him to help you seek out more of the Z’Laan descendant races in our arm of the galaxy. We need allies, warriors to help us crew new fleets and help us take the battle to the Azairi. This is going to be a long war, fought from system to system. If Harlu Az can turn over fleet prep to someone else and then accompany you, even better. The question is…will he help us?”
“Yes sir, I’m certain he will,” Jarrod responded. “I believe the Z’Laan accomplished more with their mind scans than they anticipated. Harlu Az might be an avatar composed of a colony of super-tech nanites but his mind is that of the original Harlu Az, right down to his love of his children…to include us!”
“Excellent! Your vessel and crew have priority status. So get ‘er fixed up then let me know when you’ll be ready to depart.” Rivers nodded at Caulder then looked towards his old friend Bradly, ready to outline his next assignment.
“Mac, you look unusually pensive. What’s bothering you?” Rivers asked.
“While I agree that we owe Harlu Az a huge debt of thanks for what he has done to help us, I can’t help thinking that he hasn’t been totally forthcoming with us,” Bradley replied. “There are things he knows that we may need to know and I don’t know if he’s willing to tell us.”
Jarrod pondered what Bradley said then responded, “Perhaps its part of his avatar programming that we need to ask the right questions in order to get him to answer. It’s certainly something we need to address in the very near future.”
“Make sure that you do!” said Rivers. “Well then, let’s get to it!”
Rivers paused when he noticed Bradley examining some bare skin on parts of his heavily tattooed arms. “Uh, Mac…” Rivers began, “did you lose something?”
“Nah!” Bradley replied in a distracted manner, his gaze intent on a bare spot on his left arm. “Just trying to figure out if I have enough space for an exploding Azari troop carrier or maybe a squashed Azairi bug right here.”
Rivers and Caulder shared a looked then began laughing. Bradley just looked at them innocently, wondering what had set them off.
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Thank You!
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Glossary
Azairi — An ancient alien race of ant-like beings. They conquer other star systems to acquire resources to expand beyond their home star system.
Battleship — A heavy spaceborne warship equipped with high-powered weapons and extensive armor and shielding.
Bridge — The command and control center of a star vessel, often located on the upper most deck of the ship.
Brig — A compartment aboard a star vessel used by Security to incarcerate personnel who violate ship's rules and regulations.
Carrier — A large spaceborne warship equipped to serve as a mobile space platform capable of launching and recovering fighter and attack craft.
Chief Medical Officer (CMO) — The senior medical officer about a space vessel or station.
CI — Abbreviation for Command Implant. See Neuroelectronic Linkage Implant.
CIN — Abbreviation for Command Implant Network. See Command Implant Network.
Command, Control, and Communications Center (C3) — A facility aboard spaceborne warships that centralizes the monitoring, control, command functions of the vessel during battle.
Command Implant (CI) — See Neuroelectronic Linkage Implant.
Command Implant Network (CIN) — Neuroelectronic network shared by all command personnel aboard a star vessel. The CIN allows command officers to communicate swiftly and silently between each other.
Comm Unit — Small, hand-held personal communications device used aboard star vessels.
Cruiser — A relatively fast spaceborne warship larger than a destroyer and less heavily armed than a battleship.
Destroyer — A small, fast spaceborne warship, especially one equipped for defensive roles.
EPS — Abbreviation for Emergency Pressure Suit.
EPS-E — Abbreviation for Emergency Pressure Suit-Engineering.
Emergency Pressure Suit — Lightweight, short-term encapsulating suit designed to protect a person during a contamination or depressurization event.
Emergency Pressure Suit-Engineering — An Emergency Pressure Suit designed for use by Engineering personnel during an emergency aboard ship. These suits are more rugged than standard EPS and are tailored for the individuals who will wear them them.
FTL — Abbreviation for Faster-than-Light; used to describe the Faster-than-Light drive system aboard star vessels.
Faster-than-Light (FTL) Drive — Invented in 2073 following the Yellowstone Event, FLT creates a localized instability field around a star vessel allowing it to exceed the speed of light.
Flank Speed — A ship’s true maximum speed, reserved for situations when the ship is under attack and in imminent danger.
Fleet Security — A division of the Terran Colonial Fleet responsible for providing training and personnel to protect Fleet assets and personnel.
Frigate — A spaceborne warship with a mixed armament, generally heavier than a destroyer often used for convoy escort work.
Landing Zone (LZ) — Site at which an aircraft or spacecraft will land.
Med Center — See Medical Center. Also called Sick Bay or med-bay.
Medical Center (Med Center or Sick Bay) — The primary medical facilities aboard a star vessel.
Medical Injector — A medical instrument designed to transfer injectable medications through a patient's skin using pneumatic pressure.
Neuroelectronic Linkage Implant (Command Implant) — An electronic device implanted beneath the skin and in contact with the wearer's skull. It provides a link between the wearer's mind/brain, the ship's computer system, and other wearers. Senior officers aboard each star vessel and required to have a Command Implant.
Orion-Cygnus Arm — The minor spiral arm of the Milky Way containing Earth, Camadin, Azair, and Z’La.
Planetary Landing System (PLS) — A series of thrusters and atmospheric flight systems that allow a spacecraft to fly within a planet’s atmosphere, land on its surface, and relaunch at a later time.
Proge (Progenitors) — Another name
for the Z’Laan, derived from their role as Progenitors of many races within the Orion-Cygnus Arm. See Z’Laan.
Scout — A small, fast spaceborne warship, especially one equipped for exploration.
Sick Bay — See Medical Center. Also called Med Center or med-bay.
Stasis — The process of placing living organisms into a timeless/motionless state. See also Stasis Pod.
Stasis Pod — A small compartment/mechanism capable of placing organisms into a timeless/motionless state. See also Stasis.
Stunner — A shipboard weapon designed to project a beam of coherent energy capable of rendering a human unconscious without causing damage to the ship or ship's systems.
Sublight Drive — An ion propulsion system powered by energy derived from nuclear fusion reactors and designed to propel spacecraft at speeds below the speed of light.
Tablet — Portable computing and remote access device tied wirelessly into a star vessel's primary computer system.
Terran Colonial Fleet — Earth Government's space exploration and colonization agency; composed of thousands of spacecraft ranging from short range, sublight craft and faster-than-light star vessels.
Terran Federation Defense Fleet — Earth Government's space defense force agency; composed of thousands of spacecraft ranging from short range, sublight craft and faster-than-light star vessels armed and armored for combat.
Z’Laan — An ancient humanoid race from the planet Z’La. The Z’Laan seeded many worlds in the Orion-Cygnus Arm with their modified DNA making them the Progenitors of many of the races in this sector of space.
Other Novels by Jeffrey M. Fortney
The Arizona State Guard Trilogy
Bloody Border
Target Terror
Freedom’s Forge
The Arizona State Guard Trilogy
(a compilation e-book only)
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The Terra-Bravo Saga
Chaos on Terra-Prime
Foothold on Terra-Bravo
with K.M. Fortney
Crisis on Terra-Bravo
with K.M. Fortney
The Terra-Bravo Saga
Volume 1
with K.M. Fortney
(a compilation e-book only)
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Camadin Station
Death Haunts the Stars
Last Stand
Last Stand Page 22