Chapter 9:

Adams's eyebrows were now raised; he didn't expect that type of interaction. This may actually be the perfect course of action. If he could convince Mihajlovich that he should lead the boarding party—a diplomatic mission—he might be able to get rid of the Strunin quickly and retake full control. Before he made the suggestion, Mihajlovich opened a comm link to all ships.

"This is your Admiral; listen up. These Xenos have extended an invitation to us as an act of diplomacy. I have decided to take them up on the offer. Everyone, stand by. As for the crew on the Titan, assemble a small team of engineers—experts, please. We may get a chance to look at their FTL drive and maybe find out how they synchronize their jumps. Also, I need a small team of medics—make it two, actually. I don't think we could do much, but let's look presentable. Also, five members of the security team—actually, scratch that—five legionnaires. I want Sergeant Paul, Bibek, Abdul Rahman, Sazbo, and Chen in the cargo bay in fifteen. Don't be late."

The green check marks showed up on the screen of the command chair; all the personnel were confirming they understood their orders. Adams was about to speak out when Mihajlovich spoke again with official orders.

"Admiral Grayback, you are heading out with me to the Strunin ship. Adams, you have the bridge. Usui, fill in for Admiral Grayback; the third chair stays empty for now."

Adams finally spoke, "Sir, you're not intending on going to this meeting, are you? You can't leave the ship."

"Adams, I was unable to leave the ship because of medical reasons. Since I have been cleared for duty and am now in charge of this fleet, I will be heading out to meet this Garden Ren. I am the highest-ranking officer here—actually, I am one of the four high Admirals in the entire Dominion. There is no one else that can take on this role, so please follow your orders."

"Sir, you don't possibly intend to greet them in track pants and a t-shirt, and, uh, looking a little, um, unpresentable."

Mihajlovich looked him directly in the eyes. "You think these Xenos know how a High Admiral's uniform looks, or how we generally look?"

"I suppose not."

"Then do your duty."

Ever since Mihajlovich took over, Adams was unable to think clearly. First, there was anger, then frustration, and now, he was just confused.

He nodded and decided to let it go. He hoped that Mihajlovich would be reasonable enough not to do something stupid, though it seemed that he knew exactly what he was doing.

Mihajlovich turned to Greg. "Let's go, Admiral. We are taking the lift to the lower level and straight to the cargo bay. A ship should be ready by now."

They stepped out of the bridge, leaving Adams to his thoughts.

As they were walking to the lift, Gregory spoke. "Aleks, you have that look. What have you figured out?"

They entered the lift to take them to the lower levels.

"I have a hunch, but I'm not sure yet. Let's meet up with these Strunin first and see what they really want. They seem like opportunists, but I'm not completely sure about their motives yet."

"You think this Garden guy wants something, besides aid?"

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"You know he does, Magilla. I think you figured out a few scenarios."

They exited the lift and started walking to the hangar bay.

"I don't have anything concrete yet either, but I do agree with you. Mr. 'tree up the ass' is an old dog. He sounds like one of those politicians from the old days. He has his own motives."

They were reaching the hangar bay doors that were open, waiting for their arrival.

"That's an understatement, but let's go down and get a read on him. I want to be sure."

Gregory nodded as they entered the hangar bay.

A small expedition craft was waiting for them, ready for lift-off. This was the main hangar bay. When he gave the order for everyone to meet him there, everyone knew he meant the main hangar bay, since he didn't mention a designated number. The Titan was the largest ship in the Dominion. It was designated as a “War Ship,” but it was a multi-purpose vessel. It was a craft carrier, a ground troop carrier, a large assault vessel, and a world killer—the main purpose of the large cannon on top of the ship. It was also the command ship of the entire fleet.

The requested personnel were assembled next to the craft: the five requested legionnaires, the two medical officers, and a group of three engineers—two humans and one Ape.

They all turned and saluted, perfectly synchronized—the wildest and the most disciplined crew in the entire Navy. Sergeant Paul smiled. "It's good to have you back, sir. What are your orders?"

"Good to be back, Sarge. Now, listen up. I want you legionnaires to exit the craft first when we reach their ship. Look menacing, though you don't need instructions on how to do that."

The five legionnaires grinned, then donned their helmets.

"Medics, you two exit after them and stay in line. You won't do anything; it's just a show of faith, unless they actually ask for your assistance. Engineering team, you will wait on me and Admiral Grayback to exit after that. You will exit after us and fall in line, next to the medical team. I hope you brought tools and deep scanners, also some supplies. I doubt you can do much to salvage their FTL drive, but if you can without compromising our own tech, please do so. We want them out of here. And this goes without saying, but do everything you can to find out any details about their tech that might be useful to us, especially that FTL sync. I think their drives are a bit lacking compared to ours, but their synchronization tech may be something we can use. You are free to interact, but try not to reveal anything about, well, us in general."

They all nodded.

"Me and the Admiral here will have a chat with their Ambassador. He has some ulterior motive, and we want to find out what that is. Okay, final check, everyone ready?"

They all gave salutes, presenting their readiness.

"Good. Now, move it. We are leaving."

The assembled personnel entered the expedition craft and took their seats. Gregory and Aleks stood by the door as it closed behind them.

Then Mihajlovich addressed the pilots. "Clear for takeoff.”

They started up the engines and slowly exited the main hangar bay of the mammoth ship that was the Titan.