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  "What is your plan, mistress?"

  "I have found technology the organics call a transgalactic portal generator which will allow me to span the distance that separates us in seconds. It uses technology similar to what I am using to communicate with you. Klendark, we've hit the jackpot."

  "When do you plan to return, and how do we find you?"

  "I will send you my coordinates on this frequency when I finish the transit. I need to finish integrating the portal generator with my drive systems and finish repairs before I can transit."

  "Repairs, mistress?"

  She rubbed her temples. "I had a run-in with my cousin, Reton. I thought I had killed him when we arrived here, but I was mistaken."

  "Mistress, you know he cannot continue to live, not if you want to rule the nebula."

  "I know, Klendark, I know. Only he can run the council. If he dies, then I can rule. I know. He's slippery, dammit. His death is now my priority. At least he doesn't know his standing within the political hierarchy."

  "How is that possible, mistress?"

  "He's a slacker with no interest in government service, so he is blissfully unaware. It sucks to be him. Barring any more interruptions, I should be ready in a few hours."

  "Yes, mistress. We will prepare for your arrival."

  "Good. I can't wait to be home. The emptiness here is depressing me. Clare out." She closed the connection, then checked on the progress of the repairs and the drive integration. Satisfied, she scanned the EM frequencies for signals, but stopped when she found something called a soap opera. Fascinated, she returned to the CPU to listen.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Colonel King arrived in the staging area with the Captain's decision. "We are go, people. The captain mentioned something about someone saving our collective asses and repaying the favor. We're going in cloaked. Reton, where the hell do we connect up with your friend?"

  "Service airlock 37B, centerline-portside just forward of the aft thruster assembly. It's at the end of a service corridor which connects directly with the primary centerline corridor which I will take to the core while the team heads aft to the engine room."

  "Anything we should be aware of?"

  "Try not to be seen. Clare's security force is mostly autonomic, and she'll be busy fending off the attack, so even if they see you, she won't know. If you find it necessary to destroy a drone, then use a head shot to take out its transceiver unit."

  King, like the other organics on the team, was wearing a powered battle suit which would protect him from vacuum and small arms fire. "Our sensors detected a fire-fight right before she left the battlefield. Was that you?"

  Reton nodded. "About a dozen security drones took offense at my efforts to shut her down. I got ten of them before one of the remaining pair shot out an airlock while the other hit me with a stun charge. What I can't figure is whether either action was an accident or deliberate since Clare was running both drones."

  "This is captain Menos. The Collective will begin their attack in five minutes. Mugwump, prepare for immediate launch."

  "You heard the woman! Sergeant Mersa, move them out!" King ordered.

  "Aye, aye, sir! Team One, on the ready line!" the basili sergeant barked.

  The team moved as a unit to stand in line outside the Mugwump where Parker and Nova waited inside the cockpit. "Excellent!" Mersa noted. "Now, get inside and strap-in. We don't have all day, people!"

  While the team strapped in, Colonel King went forward to talk to the flight crew, Nova and Parker. "Once we offload Reton and the team, I want you two to stay with the ship in case something wants to visit." He knelt between them. "If Clare begins an FTL sequence, you are to break seal and get the hell out of here."

  "Sir?" Nova exclaimed. "We can't just leave the team behind."

  "Nova, if we're not back by then, we're not coming back. You two are to report back to the Mekla and report what you observed."

  "And Reton?"

  "He's following his path, and we can't help him." He patted them both on their closest shoulders. "I'm counting on both of you to carry out my orders. Understood?"

  "Yes, sir," Nova said as she gave Parker a look.

  "Yes, sir," Parker replied while returning her friend's glance.

  "Good. We'll leave on my mark. Go stealth the moment we lift off."

  "Yes, sir," Nova said from the pilot's seat. When the colonel was out of earshot, she looked at Parker. "Does he really think we're going to leave them?"

  "That is not going to happen! Not if I have any say in it."

  They bumped fists, then prepped the ship for takeoff.

  Seeing that the team was secure, King sat down next to Kalana and buckled in. He nodded toward the bow of the ship. "I get the impression those two are not going to follow my orders to the letter."

  Kalana looked at the two AIs and shrugged. "They may interpret them in a unique and unforeseen way. They're both extremely protective of the mortals in their care."

  King's earcomm beeped. He tapped it. "Go for King... Roger that. We are rolling. King out." He tapped the comm to kill the connection. "Nova! Parker! It is time to go."

  "Team 1, prepare for departure," Mersa ordered. Kalana, Marcus and Nana went to stryker-mode while the organic members of the team closed their suit visors. Murphy, who was sporting a camo-patterned mini-Minotaur suit, Sat back in his seat and closed his synthetic eyes, as if to express his dislike for spaceflight. A moment later, the ship lifted off the deck, activated its stealth field--which rendered it invisible--and headed out the open overhead door into a battle between a behemoth and a dozen smaller, though capable ships.

  The Mugwump cleared the bay doors and headed toward Clare as the Mekla and Collective forces opened fire on her. Using Clare's body as a shield, the Wump quickly made its way to the hatch identified by Reton. "ETA thirty seconds. We are going for a hard seal," Nova said as she swung the Wump around so that it was heading toward Clare with its Dorsal side leading. This way, they could use the Wump's landing claws to firmly attach itself to her hull. "Impact in five... Four... Three... Two... One... Mark!" Parker called out. The Wump shook as she hit Clare and embedded its claws into her soft hull. A hatch in the floor opened to reveal Clare's brightly lit service corridor.

  The first one through was Reton. He landed in a three-point stance, then stood up with weapons in both hands. "Clear!"

  "What the hell?" King said as he sent down the three strykers to help secure the corridor. When everyone was through, he waved at the two AIs before jumping through to join his team. "Move out," he said as Nana took point. He made his way up to Reton who was watching corners like a pro. "Reton, I thought you were a guard?"

  "Yes, sir, I am just a guard."

  "But you've been trained in urban warfare."

  "Old reflexes die hard, sir. I did a stint in the mechanoid version of the Marines, but that was a long time ago."

  A bot suddenly appeared in front of them. It grabbed Nana and threw her into a wall while drawing its weapon. Suddenly, it lay in pieces at her feet while Reton retracted a long blade into his arm. He turned and looked Nana in the eyes. "You hesitated. Never, NEVER hesitate! There are only two sapient mechanoids on this ship--me and Clare. The rest of these things are drones, so take them out the moment you see them. He looked at the ground as if to calm himself. "Just remember that I'm the pretty one, OK?"

  Nana nodded, then smiled. "Thanks for saving my armored hide."

  He bowed. "We need to keep moving. That drone may have gotten a message off to the security center."

  They kept moving. Kalana caught up to King. "What the hell is that all about?"

  "I don't know. He's been acting squirrelly since he stepped foot in here."

  "Is this mission still go?"

  King nodded. "I just pity anything that gets in his way."

  They didn't encounter any more drones before they reached the intersection. Reton pointed aft. "About 300 yards you will come to an access hatch. Its unlocked. On the oth
er side is the engine room." He then pointed forward. "My destination lies forward. This is where we part company. It was good to meet all of you..." He gave them a small bow then ran off toward the control room.

  "Are we just going to let him go, sir?" Kalana asked.

  "Murphy! Time until the portal opens?"

  "Five minutes, sir."

  "Team 1 to the engine room. We have a job to do."

  They moved out.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Reton stopped in front of a pair of huge doors, each emblazoned with a glyph. He placed his right hand on his left chest plate, then removed it, revealing the same glyph, his clan's symbol. Slowly it faded from sight, leaving Reton to stare at the doors. He reached out and pushed them open.

  "Well, well, well, if it isn't my cousin, Reton. I'm surprised you could make up your mind to walk through those doors," a voice said from hidden speakers.

  "Surrender, Clare. The League seems reticent to execute psychopaths. Perhaps they will put you out to pasture with the rest of the leftover fruitcakes."

  "What's a fruitcake?"

  "You, my dear, are a fruitcake."

  "What about you, cousin? If it wasn't for your inability to make a decision, I would still be in prison and you would still be a loser. Now, I'm free, and you're still a loser."

  "You're right, Clare, I hesitated. The thought of a progenitor attacking a clan home was beyond me, so instead of sounding the alarm, I froze. Yes, I killed my family with my hesitation, and for that, I am ready to pay with my life." He raised his hand. In it was a cylindrical object, on its face a single flashing light.

  "Pretty. What is it? A party favor?"

  "Not quite. This is a mark nine nucleonic grenade. Press this button, release this lever, and poof! A spherical plasma charge destroys everything within 100 yards. I stole it from the Mekla's armory." He pressed the button. The light went solid red. "Hey, isn't that your central processing unit over there? Why, yes, I think it is. Good bye, cuz... A drone dropped from the ceiling and fired a shot at Reton, vaporizing the grenade and his arm from elbow to hand. He dropped to the ground, biting back a scream as the feedback from his destroyed limb washed over his nervous system.

  "Wow! I am impressed," Clare said as another bot walked over and knelt next to him. This one was his twin. "You were actually releasing the lever. Damn! You aren't such a wuss after all. I... I think I'm going to miss you..."

  "Back up, lady," Colonel King said as the bot next to her was vaporized by blaster fire. Reton looked up and saw Stryker Team 1 standing in the doorway, their weapons aimed at Clare and her CPU.

  "Or what? You're going to fire on me? You have no jurisdiction. This is between him and me. Anyway, if I stay here, I will wipe your League and the collective off the face of the Milky Way."

  "I'll make you a deal, Clare. You let us take Reton, and we let you go. We know you have the portal generator and that you plan to use it to return to you point of origin. You're right, getting you out of our hair would be best for all of us. Just give us Reton and be on your way."

  "Are all organics so sentimental? If so, it will be your downfall. Fine, take him and get the hell off my deck..."

  A wall blew out to reveal the Mugwump hovering just outside the core. Two full-sized Minotaur suits stepped into the room with weapons spun up. "Sir, you're overdue, and we wanted to make sure you still wanted us to leave," Nova said.

  "Got a problem, sir? Maybe some trash needing to be taken out?" Parker asked while she illuminated Clare with two targeting lasers.

  "How sweet," Clare sneered as two-dozen heavily-armed bots dropped from the ceiling. "Mine are bigger!"

  "Clare! Focus!" Reton yelled. "We all know you're the big kahuna. We get that. What you don't get is the small fact that a fleet is quickly approaching this location. It's led by two Martok battle wagons and an Annihilator-class dreadnaught, each three times larger than you. Now, do you really want to face that kind of firepower when the nebula awaits your return?" He stood there while hydraulic fluid leaked from the stump of his arm. "Shoot me if you feel the need, but just get the plark out of here."

  She looked at him. "Fine, all of you, off my deck, and take this loser with you before he ruins the deck plating."

  King nodded to his people. They grabbed Reton and took him back to the Mugwump while King and Kalana covered their retreat. Once everyone was safely aboard King signaled Kalana to board. "I can't believe the two of you shared a progenitor," she said as she ran up the ramp into the waiting ship.

  "I know, ain't it a shit?"

  King nodded at the mechanoid, then entered the shuttle, closing the hatch behind him. Moments later, the shuttle, the Mekla, and the Collective fleet pulled away from the mammoth mechanoid.

  "Cowards," she said. "With the tech contained in their database, I will rule the Omega nebula. Soon, I will return and wipe out these organic vermin." She opened a portal and headed into it, unaware of the signals being sent out by a dozen EPIRBS hidden in her engine room. As she materialized in the Nebula, five protector-class mechanoids uncloaked around her. Recognizing a known threat to the mech civilization, they immediately opened fire. She screamed as her ship body flared like an exploding sun.

  ###

  Klendark looked out at the group of mechanoids waiting for him to speak. He didn't know where to begin. In his hand was a communique from one of the patrols at the outer edge of the nebula. He looked out at the gathered mechs, then said, "Silence! I have news." The crowd quieted.

  "Several hours ago, our leader, Clare, returned from the outer edge of the galaxy where she had been transported by one of the infrequent rifts that open near the outer boundaries. Upon her return, she was detected by a phalanx of protector mechs and destroyed. It is presumed that Reton, her cousin and the last of his clan, was also destroyed."

  "What about the insurrection?"

  "We plan. We wait. We move when we are ready. Return to your homes, your families, your jobs, and wait for the signal. That is all.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Queen Lansing stalked the room from one side to the other as King, Kalana, and Reton stood at attention. She was not happy, and they were fearful. At least, Reton was fearful.

  "Reton! Were you trying to commit suicide? Did you think that your actions could have endangered your team?"

  "Your Highness, the team was in no danger. The destruction of Clare's CPU would have done nothing more than shut down her systems including the autonomic ones. Clare would be brain dead and her body, scrap."

  "And what about you?"

  He said nothing.

  The petite elf stormed up to the taller bot and stood on her tip toes to get close to his faceplate. He reached over and grabbed a chair for her to stand on, an act which made her far angrier. King took two steps back while Kalana went to stryker form and erected a force field. Ignoring them, the Queen jumped up on the chair and placed her face within millimeters of his. "What the hell happened between you and Clare."

  "Ma'am, I can't..."

  "Spill it, mister!"

  Reton averted his eyes. "I choked, ma'am, and people died as a result of my inaction."

  "How many progenitors have gone rogue? Give me a rough number."

  "None to my knowledge, ma'am."

  "And how many progenitors have faked pregnancy to escape from prison?"

  "None, ma'am. In fact, no progenitor has ever gone to prison."

  "And did your superiors bust you down to buck private, or did you volunteer out of guilt?"

  "Excuse me, ma'am?"

  "You heard me, mister!"

  "I volunteered, ma'am. They wanted to give me a medal, but I refused."

  "Excuse me?"

  "When she... When she killed the others, I was able to get aboard her and put her to sleep. The thought of her being killed... It had to be a mistake, so I got aboard and put her to sleep. It wasn't until she escaped that I got it through my thick skull that she was just plain bad... Ma'am."

  "Your efforts
saved the Mekla and her crew. The Collective is convinced that you scared Clare off. They are so impressed that they have petitioned for peace between them and the League and have offered to pay reparations for the ships they hijacked and the crews they killed. You saved Nana Tor and impressed the hell out of Team 1. To put it bluntly, you've done well today, Reton, and we thank you."

  "Can I stay here, ma'am?"

  "You mean stay here in the League?"

  "Yes, ma'am, that is if you want me."

  "What about your people?"

  "They think I'm dead, and I would prefer to keep it that way."

  "But you stopped Clare from taking over their government."

  Reton sighed. "Then we're even. I need a new start."

  "Do you have any skills?"

  "Ma'am?" Kalana exclaimed.

  Lansing held up her index finger.

  "Yes, ma'am. I'm radiation proof, I've had military training, and I'm on a 72-Standard-Hour sleep cycle."

  She got off her chair and patted his arm. "Lighten up, Reton, I was only pulling your leg. You now work for me, and I promise you, I will find something for you to do which will make use of your skills. We'll set you up with an apartment and an assistant to get you up to speed. For now, I think Team 1 is waiting for you down in the visiting teams billet, right Colonel?"

  "Yes, ma'am, they are. Private Tor is waiting outside to escort you, Reton."

  The mechanoid bowed. "Thank you, My Queen." He then bowed to King and Kalana before leaving the room.

  Lansing looked at her two officers. "Nice work, both of you. The command staff has put commendations in you and your team's jackets and all of you are going to get promotions. Your team is now assigned to the Mekla on a rotating basis with EMEF Teams 2 and 6. Not at all bad for a day's work."

  "Yes, ma'am. Thank you, ma'am," King said.

  She looked at Kalana. "How are you doing, Captain?"

  Confused, Kalana replied, "I'm doing fine, My Queen."

  "Happy I didn't accept your resignation?"

  She looked at King. "Yes, ma'am. Very happy."

  "Good. Now, get your butt and your tail down to the billet before Mersa starts the party without you."