07:49, January 1st, 2135

Selina opened the door to reveal one of the three configurable ‘mission’ rooms on the ship. Each one was designed to be adjustable based on their current needs, with the furniture, fixtures, and appliances entirely created based on templates from Kayden’s nanobot swarm. Given the galactic scale of their current conflict, this one had been set up as a ‘stellar cartography’ room, with the lights dimmed so that everyone could clearly see the holographic 3-dimensional representation of the Trappist system currently being projected in the middle of the room.

As Kayden glanced around, he saw that Selina’s description of the situation was accurate. In one corner of the room sat Beth Weir, scrolling through a tablet with a scowl on her face. She wore a wrinkled blue jumpsuit with the Port Vega insignia on the front and a black leather holster for a pistol around her hip – one that he was relieved to see was currently empty. Next to her stood Dawn, who flashed him the briefest of encouraging smiles as he raised an eyebrow at her.

His eyes moved to the opposite corner of the room where the Lokken commander was sitting. In contrast to Beth, his white naval uniform was cleanly pressed and starched. His shoulder epaulettes bore a trio of stars denoting his rank as ‘admiral’, and his cybernetic eye seemed to buzz and click as it darted around the room. His back was ramrod straight, thrusting the array of medals pinned neatly across his chest outwards. He studied Kayden for a moment before nodding respectfully and glancing back at the map of the system.

The final two members of their little ‘war council’ were standing in the corner together in hushed conversation. Kayden’s eyes lingered on Ashley’s hourglass frame for a few moments, tracing the curve of her ass up and down before focusing on the man she was standing next to. In contrast to Admiral Swiatkewicz his dark grey uniform was simple and lacked any ornamentation – only the nameplate across his front reading ‘Cmdr. Duke’ gave any indication of his rank.

Stepping closer to the center of the room, Kayden began to speak. “Thank you all for coming. It sounds like you’re all acquainted with each other, so unless anyone has any objections I’ll get right down to business.” When nobody stopped him, he continued. “By now you’ve seen the queen’s transmission. We don’t quite know how yet, but apparently she’s able to transfer her consciousness into cloned bodies. By killing her on Trappist Prime we temporarily disrupted her control over the Voidborn, but she regained control when the new body emerged.”

The room immediately erupted into chaos, with each of Duke, Swiatkewicz, and Wier shouting questions. Kayden held up a hand in response and looked back at Ali, nodding towards the holographic projection in front of them. Reading his intent, the image shifted from one of the system to an anatomical view of the queen’s body before he continued.

“We’re happy to share this intel with you to verify for yourselves, but it looks like if we destroy their ability to transfer her consciousness into new bodies then the Voidborn will revert to their base instincts over time – meaning our ‘war’ turns into a pest control exercise.”

“Good, cause there’s no goddamn way we’re beating them conventionally.” Duke said with a drawl.

“Why do you say that?” Kayden asked.

He paused for a moment, seemingly hesitant to elaborate. Shaking her head Ashley prodded him. “If you’ve got intel to share, now would be a very good time. This only works if we all trust each other.”

With a resigned exhale he pulled a tablet from his pocket and tapped it several times before swiping it upwards, sending the information wirelessly to Kayden’s wrist mounted computer. Ali intercepted and quickly rerouted it, pulling a tactical view of the Sol System up on the hologram in front of them.

“That’s a neat trick.” Duke muttered before explaining himself. “This is Sol, as of a few hours ago. We’ve still got some spy satellites intermittently transmitting data that they haven’t managed to shoot down yet. Notice the sizable Voidborn fleet in orbit around Earth.”

“Well. Shit.” Kayden said. “That’s a lot of ships.”

“My sentiment exactly.” Duke agreed. “They’ve got a stranglehold on the system, and every few days it seems like there are more of them. They’re taking over Earth gradually using ground forces – we’re making them pay for every damn inch of soil we give up of course – but it’s a losing proposition without orbital support.”

“That is far more ships than even we can muster.” Admiral Swiatkewicz said.

Kayden furrowed his brow before looking over at Ali. “Can you zoom out a little? Show us a galaxy view with hyperlanes highlighted.” As she did, he turned back to Duke. “And you’re sure they’re only in Sol and Alpha Centauri, right?”

“Correct.” Duke nodded.

“Alright then here’s what I’m thinking: we set up a pair of blockades – one here, and one in the Bernard’s Star system.” He said, pointing at the map. “If we focus on stopping them at those systems, they won’t be able to escape and attack the larger galaxy.”

“To what end?” Admiral Swiatkewicz asked.

“While you do that, I hunt down this clone facility and destroy it along with any remaining bodies she has. That should disrupt her control.”

“Why you?” Duke asked. “Why not one of us?”

“Because if I do it, you can be damn sure I’ll actually destroy it instead of trying to take the technology for myself and sell it.”

“One of my ships could do it.” Beth countered. “And I have no desire to take that tech for myself.”

“Beth, you’ve got a makeshift fleet of frigates, corvettes, and destroyers. Nothing against them, but this is equally an archeological mission as it is a military one. The Broken Shackle is the best choice, and we’ve got the crew to make it happen. Not to mention that we’ve got a stealth drive – we can do this quickly and quietly.”

“We still do not have enough ships to hold the line in one system, much less two.” Admiral Swiatkewicz complained. “In order for a blockade to be at least somewhat effective, we need more ships.”

“I can talk to the Roccan Alliance.” Ashley offered. “I’m still on somewhat favorable terms with the admiralty, and it won’t be hard to convince them that they need to hold the line in their space anyways.” She paused for a moment before raising one eyebrow. “Still, we could use some…other help.”

Kayden took a breath before nodding. Time for the big reveal, I guess.

“Do you have an enormous fleet hidden away somewhere that we don’t know about?” Beth asked.

“In a manner of speaking.” Kayden responded before scratching the back of his head nervously. “I’m not really sure how to start, to be honest.”

“Just say the damn thing.” Duke drawled, shaking his head. “We ain’t got all day. Besides, after what we’ve been through, nothin’ is gonna surprise me.”

Kayden arched one eyebrow before starting. “The alien civilization we know as the precursors was actually made up of two distinct empires – the Kel, and the Vrul. Both civilizations were brought to the brink of extinction by the Voidborn 2.2 million years ago, and the survivors went into hiding. They woke up from cryosleep about 500 years ago, and have been gradually rebuilding their civilizations. While they’re rivals with each other, at least some of them are friendly towards me and my crew. There are members of both civilizations on this ship right now.”

“Bullshit.” Admiral Swiatkewicz spat.

“I’ll vouch for him.” Beth offered. “I didn’t know he made contact, but he told me about the Vrul/Kel split during that business with the Black Company. If anyone managed to do the impossible and actually find any survivors, it’s him.”

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“I’ll do you one better.” Kayden replied. “Ali, ask Elara to come say hi. And send these fine folks our logs from the last few months – they can verify everything I’m saying on their own time.” He paused for a moment. “Please try not to do anything stupid when you see her, like attack her, lose your shit, or call her an alien.”

As he said it, the door behind Kayden slid open and Elara entered. She smiled disarmingly before taking her place beside Kayden, nodding to him respectfully. Her blue skin seemed especially radiant in the dim light, and her bemused smirk gave away just how much she was enjoying the moment.

“So I guess you told them?” She asked Kayden in Kel.

“They didn’t believe me.” Kayden replied, also in Kel.

“How about now?” She said, switching to English and turning to the assembled group. “Do you believe him now? I’m surprised you know – most humans tend to lose their composure a bit more upon seeing a Kel for the first time.”

“Kayden asked them to keep their cool.” Dawn informed her.

“Aw.” Elara said before looking at Kayden and grinning playfully. “You’re no fun.”

A stunned silence hung over the room. Beth let the tablet she was holding slip from her fingers and clatter to the ground noisily, while Admiral Swiatkewicz’s eyes went wider than Kayden throught possible. For his part, Duke chuckled and shook his head in amazement.

“Well. I stand corrected.”

“There’s more.” Kayden said. “The Kel are generally friendly towards us, but they’re pacifist – they have a relatively small fleet. The Vrul are much more militaristic, but they have an enormous fleet of ships. If we were able to convince both groups to help hold the line, it would improve our odds significantly.”

“How do you plan on convincing these… Kel? And Vrul?” Duke asked.

“Appeal to their sense of self-preservation.” Ashley answered on Kayden’s behalf. “The Voidborn destroyed their civilizations before, and there’s a good chance they’ll do it again unless we can all work together on this.”

“I’ll set up a meeting with the Kel leadership myself.” Elara offered.

“Then it’s settled.” Kayden said. “We’ll secure as much outside help as we can. Kel, Vrul – we’ll take whatever we can get. While we do that, we’ll comb through any of their records we can get our hands on to see if we can narrow down the location of this facility a bit more. I’d prefer not to search several systems worth of hostile space.”

“That still leaves the issue of who remains in charge of the defenses while you’re gone.” Beth said. “We’ll need someone who everyone can respect, and who has enough military experience to run an effective blockade.”

Before anyone could bring forward any names, Ali spoke. “I believe Captain Brown would be an excellent choice, given the parameters of the problem.”

“Is…she an android?” Duke said, narrowing his eyes at Ali.

“Yes.” Kayden answered simply. “Let’s not get sidetracked though. Ali, you were saying?”

“Captain Ashley Brown.” Ali said, turning to Kayden’s former commander. “You served in the Roccan Alliance for 17 years, including 2 years managing the blockade forces in the Virgo system. You also have experience working with both the Kel and independent forces. The Roccan Alliance is most likely to cooperate with you as well.”

“What about us though?” Admiral Swiatkewicz protested. “She doesn’t understand our naval doctrines.”

“Actually that’s not true.” Kayden countered. “Her and I both fought on behalf of the Roccan against the Lokken once upon a time. She not only understands your doctrines, she knows how to counter them – which is more valuable in this case. And she’s a hell of a tactician to boot.”

“Do I get any say in this matter?” Ashley said.

“Would you turn it down if it was offered to you?” Kayden countered.

“I… well…no.”

“Sounds like we should put it to a vote then. I’m in favor.” Beth said.

“She sounds like she’s got a hell of a resume. Count me in.” Duke added.

Admiral Swiatkewicz let out a resigned sigh before turning to Ashley. “Very well. In the interests of making this plan work, I will support your command.”

“Good. Then we’re all agreed.” Kayden said, turning towards the door. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a Voidborn base to destroy and some alliances to secure.”

Without giving any of them a chance to ask further questions, Kayden left the room with Dawn, Ali, Elara, and Selina in tow. They reached the elevator before he slumped his shoulders and rolled his neck in a slow circle, letting out some of the tension.

“So, sounds like we’re finding another ancient alien base.” Selina joked.

“Sounds like it.” Kayden chuckled. “At least we’re experienced at it by now. Only problem is that it’s not my life at stake anymore – it’s the lives of everyone in the galaxy.”

“We’ll find it.” Dawn said encouragingly. “I know we will.”

As they reached the bridge they filed out, with each woman taking their seat at a workstation while Kayden slumped into the command chair. He pulled out his tablet and began scrolling through a galaxy map for inspiration on where to start the search before Elara spoke again.

“The Kel president is willing to meet you with her cabinet and military leadership in 2 days on Kel Prime – our homeworld.”

“Really?” Kayden perked up and kissed her softly on the cheek. “That’s fantastic news! Well done Elara.”

“Don’t thank me yet.” She cautioned. “We’ll still need to convince them to lend us their support.”

Overhearing them, Dawn turned in her seat. “Can you send me everything you’ve got on the president? I’ll start working on our negotiation strategy now.”

“Done.” Elara said, swiping her tablet.

“Kayden.” Ali interrupted. “Ashley reports that Ms. Wier, Commander Duke, and Admiral Swiatkewicz are returning to their ships. She’s requesting a private meeting with you before she goes back to the Emancipation.”

“Go.” Elara urged him. “We’ll take care of the preparations. It’ll only take about 28 hours to get to Kel Prime from here, so we’ve got time before we have to leave.”

He paused to kiss each of Elara, Dawn, Ali, and Selina before they ushered him towards the elevator. As it descended towards the hangar bay he mentally prepared himself for the tongue-lashing he’d no doubt receive from Ashley for springing this on her – even if it was the right choice.

When he emerged he quickly saw Ashley standing next to her shuttle, doling out orders over the radio. She paced back and forth beside the 10-meter long boxy grey metal craft, her hips swaying back and forth unconsciously as she continued to give commands. It was only when he started to jog towards her that she caught his eye and finished the call, hanging up before opening the shuttle door. Sliding her tablet into her pocket she nodded towards the open door as he neared.

“In.” She said tersely.

Feeling like he was heading into a warzone he set his shoulders before nodding, following her inside. He took in the entire craft at a glance – to his left were two seats arranged side-by-side in the cockpit, and to his right was a small cargo area that also housed the engines. The walls and floor were made of the same grey metal as the outside, giving the entire craft a cold, lifeless feel. Above them, soft yellow auxiliary lights cast shadows around the cabin.

“Nobody flew you over here?” Kayden asked, seeing that the shuttle was empty except for them.

“Flew it myself.” She said, pressing a button to close the door behind him.

He debated lecturing her for a moment about the dangers of having their fleet commander fly a shuttle by herself in an active warzone for a moment, but when he saw the look on her face he decided against it. Instead, he changed the subject.

“Ali told me you wanted to talk privately. What’s up?”

She sighed, exasperated. “Kayden Reynolds, what the ever-loving fuck am I going to do with you?”