Chapter 8

Jon watched the small blips on planning table's holographic display. Atlantis had since moved out from under the Ge'daes and was now sitting in front of Drig's vessel. He was waiting on the reply from this captain, the ball was in his court; friend or enemy? Jon was relieved to hear that Deatra was out of danger and the station was back in their control. They hadn't told him yet of Andie's death or the horrible death of Geenis. Terri had reported on a secure comm they had managed to gain access to the station and were on their way to Deatra's location. Jon had ordered the Benesean raptor team on stand by and all flight groups to alert status.

His plan was simple, either Drig came to his senses and they gained another ally or he would take their ships and lock them away until he had dealt with the current political problem on Eutharan. Jon walked around the planning table and stood in front of the large viewing screen. The words written on the side of the large ship displayed didn't comfort him, in Eutharan they said Death's Door. Apt name he thought, the carrier had to be one of the last ones in the fleet and most likely the newest. 'So, ' Jon thought 'Once again I stand on Death's Door. Who knows maybe this will be the last time I stand here... '

Drig looked back at his Comm Officer, a startled look on his face. "Are you sure this is authentic?" He asked, pointing to the message displayed before him.

"Yes sir," his Officer replied. "I have checked the code three times and traded it back to the home world."

Drig shook his head as he looked at the message before him and read it again.

Drig shook his head, they were insane. No back up and they expected his small fleet to take the station and to fight the Ge'daes? The other two they could probably take, but a Titan Class Spaceship wasn't something you messed with unless you had a large fleet. Things weren't going as planned, this Admiral Hunter always managed to pull off the impossible. That was if this was truly Admiral Hunter, maybe rumors of his death had been exaggerated.

Deatra entered he room followed closely by her guards. She could sense Terri on the station; Terri was working her way to CIC. She turned and looked out the window, the Ge'daes was clearly visible and somewhere close was the Atlantis. She couldn't see her but she knew it was there waiting.

'Leave me, ' Deatra's voice said in her guards head. 'Leave two guards at the door, the rest I want helping make sure the Station is secure.'

The corporal in charge of her detail saluted, "As you wish Princess."

The guards left the room as Deatra closed her eyes and concentrated on the Death's Door. She remembered Captain Drig and the ship, she had been the one who commissioned the vessel and turned it over to his command. Now it was time to meet him again but on different terms, her terms. Life was going to be getting very hard in the near future, choices had to be made.

Gilas made his way to the docking platform where the Braous was under guard. Breq had asked him to over see the securing of the ship. They had received a communication earlier informing them of the crews surrender. More than half the crew had found out about the little coup going on and took matters into their own hands. The ship was now in the hands of Captain Eafiq's people and was preparing to get underway. Eafiq was already on the bridge of his vessel getting things prepared to depart. Gilas would go along as liaison and a staff advisor. Thing were quickly turning around.

Breq looked up at the main viewer as CIC fell silent when Jon's face was displayed. A tear formed in more than one eye in the room. Breq smiled as the young man who continually surprised him was displayed on the viewer. Jon said something to someone off screen before turning his attention back to Breq.

"Admiral," Jon said.

"Fleet Admiral Hunter, is that really you?" Breq managed to say.

"In the flesh," Jon said as a grin spread across his face. "The Princess?"

"Last I heard doing fine and secured in her quarters. I have dispatched addition marines to her current position as back up."

Jon nodded, "Good, Terri should be contacting you shortly."

"Terri?"

"Yes, she is on the station with her team. I sent her there to secure CIC incase it had been compromised."

"Sir, how far out are you? We have a small stand off here and could use the Atlantis and your presence."

"I'm already on station and have been in contact with a Captain Drig. I'm awaiting his reply and will proceed from there. From now on all communications will include Anders, Gilas and you."

"Gilas is headed to the Braous as an official representative of the ADF. She should be joining the Ge'daes shortly. But I still can't seem to pinpoint your location Sir."

"I'll explain later, right now we have more pressing matters. I want the Wrath's Revenge prepared for immediate departure."

"I'll relay you orders to Prasuh at once. Can I ask where we will be going?"

"I will be going to Eutharan to settle this mess once and for all. I'm tired of this in fighting going on and the need for the former rulers of the Eutharan people to continually cause me problems."

Breq didn't miss the use of the word former when Jon was talking about the King and Queen. It was something Jon should have taken care of long ago, "The Atlantis won't be going with you?"

Jon's attention was pulled briefly from the screen. He answered Breq's question as he turned his attention back to the screen, "Yes she will, but she'll be in stealth mode the whole way. I'll be taking up residence on the Wrath's Revenge for this trip."

"Sir, I request you take the Ge'daes instead of the Wrath's Revenge."

"No."

"But Sir..."

"The Ge'daes would be too threatening. Showing up in a Titan Class Starship is not how I want to start this mission out. If it makes you feel better have her station a short jump away. I also want the Wrath's Revenge fully manned, including fighters and marines contingents. I don't want to show up there with an undermanned ship. I want them to think we have more resources and personnel that we really do."

"We should have more than enough personnel and equipment. We have several ships still waiting on repairs and refits. Their crews can fill in while they wait for their vessels to be finished. It will give people something to do besides sit on their rumps."

Jon looked thoughtful, "You know that's not a bad idea..."

"What?"

"Look, suspend all refits and repairs for now. I have some Techs that might be able to add some improvements to the current design and construction schematics. Then assign all personnel that has nothing to do to other ships. Try to get all of the currently operating ships up to full status. I don't know why I didn't think about that before. We have been fighting at half efficiency because of the lack of man power. Yet all the time the answer has been right in front of us. We have had almost entire crews sitting around on the Station and twiddling their thumbs."

Breq started giving out orders as he continued his conversation with Jon. Things were finally taking shape and actually looking like they had a chance.

Deatra's form took shape on the bridge of the Death's Door. All eyes locked on her, several people bowed. Drig stood up from his command chair and took a step forward. Several of the Marines brought arms to bear on her as she looked around.

"Lower your weapons," Drig said. "Resume you posts and operations."

Deatra's eyes locked on the Captain.

Drig bowed in respect, "Welcome to the Death's Door."

Deatra's arched an eyebrow, "Thank you Captain Drig, I trust you are well."

"Yes, thank you Princess."

"My entrance didn't seem to startle you Captain."

"It did, Princess, trust me. I just can't allow my surprise at any situation to show."

Deatra's musical laugh filled the bridge, "And you do it so well, I forgot how well you were trained and by whom."

Drig smiled, "Yes, your Uncle was a great teacher. I felt the loss when he died."

"Thank you, I know he was very proud of you. Though, I wonder if he would be now."

"Excuse me Princess, what do you mean?"

"You're blind, following puppets. Doing things you know are not right and against everything we as a people stand for."

Drig's face turned red as he contained the anger that consumed him. She knew better than to do this here on his bridge in front of his crew. Not that there was a whole lot he could do about it. "Princess if you would care to retire to my ready room."

"No, I think not. I have had enough of these games and tire of them. The man you have been talking to is Admiral Hunter, my soon to be husband. I know him well enough by now to guess he has already planned this battle out and you will lose. I also know he is going back to Eutharan to right the wrongs there."

"What wrongs?"

Deatra's eyes half closed as she glared at Drig, "I don't have time for games Captain. You know what I mean. For over 600 years the Eutharan people have been sliding towards extinction. The King and Queen are merely puppets under the control of the Invaru Emperor and his agents. Now that the Emperor is dead his agents now control our people, this is unacceptable. They have kept us confined and off balance for ages. But now things have changed, there is a new enemy for us to fight. The Invaru and Buranis are once again our allies in this fight. We have a new ally who needs us as much as we need them, the Humans from Earth. Their Home World lies in waste; this Station is the only thing they have. They have accepted anyone willing to help, even past enemies. All Admiral Hunter wants is for everyone to get along and to contribute to the great good of everyone. You have a chance here, he has extended the hand of friendship and the choice is yours."

Drig stared at the Princess, half of what she had said made sense. He had always suspected something like that was going on. He had never been able to prove it. Still the Princess was impertinent discussing all this in front of the crew. Did she know of the communication he had just received?

"Yes I do," Deatra said answering the question.

Drig stumbled back his face pale. One of the guards in the room moved with lightening reflexes and pulled his weapon up aiming at the Princess. The bolt from his weapon passed through the Princess and hitting one of the view screens, shattering it.

"Fool, " the Princess hissed as she turned her attention on the guard.

The guard slammed in to bulkhead behind him his armor shattering and bones breaking from the impact. He slumped to the floor blood flowing from his mouth and nose, dead before anyone could take action.

"Puppets and pawns, " She hissed. "I don't know why I thought you would see reason and open your eyes to see what was going on around you. We as a people only have one chance; Admiral Hunter has given us that chance. My bond mate will assume the throne of the Eutharan people. There is nothing you can do about it, you can't prevent it. You will either fall into line or be destroyed here. I will promise you this, if by some miracle you manage to kill him and defeat our fleet here. Enjoy the storm that is brewing on the horizon, and then remember your chance to make a difference. How you squandered it away and killed our only hope. A great man has reformed a defunct alliance that has been at war with each other for over a 1000 years. The choice is yours to make." With that Deatra faded from view.

In her cabin Deatra sank to the floor and passed out, the glow surrounding her faded.

Drig had made up his mind seconds before the Princess faded. He returned to his chair as he looked over to the body of the dead marine. "Get that filth off my bridge. Get me ship wide on all fleet vessels. Get all the other Captains on a secure transmission and have them stand by.

"Ship wide channels open Sir," Comm reported.

"All hands this is the Captain Drig. I ask that everyone think through what I'm about to say and ask of you. Most of you have served with me most of your lives and careers. What I ask of you now will be the most important choice you will probably make in your life time. It is not something to be taken lightly. I have your Captains on a secure transmission and will wait for a reply."

Personnel one every ship stopped what they were doing to listen to the transmission being broadcast. Several Captains, taken off guard by the transmission, raised in eyebrow as they listened.

Drig continued, "I have just had a disturbing visit from the Princess Deatra. She has informed me of certain things that I have suspected to be true are. The current government is a farce and has been taking actions not entirely in our best interests..."

Two ships in the fleet fired on the Death's Door as they cut off the transmission. The rest of the ships held station, not knowing what to do.

Jon's face show surprise when he saw the vessels fire on the Death's Door. He had his answer, he had an idea of what had caused the sudden attack. The other ships in the Eutharan fleet held position as the battle broke out. The first volley of fire had penetrated the carrier's defenses cutting a line of destruction across her on each side. The Death's Door's shields flared briefly then failed. Her guns lanced out in response to the sudden attack, only to be absorbed by the shields of the two vessels.

Death's Door's engines flared to life pushing her closer to the outer markers. The defensive batteries locked on to her as she started to move. The Ge'daes started to make her way on an intercept course. The Scythe and Hammer dropped back slightly, taking up a more defensive stance, all three ships showed Condition Red on the holographic map.

"Sir, communication from the Death's Door, Captain Drig is asking for you personally," the Comm officer reported.

"Put it through, also get me the Ge'daes," Jon said.

Drig's face popped up on the viewer, smoke filled the background. A small cut over one eye created a river of blood down the side of his face. Jon knew from experience that facial wounds always looked worse than they were.

Static almost drowned out Drig's words, "Admiral Hunter, my crew and I seek asylum from the ADF. My ship is yours to command, my Prince."

Jon looked over the read outs, was this a trick? He would have to drop the defense screen to allow the Death's Door in. Could he afford to delay them long enough to figure it out? If these reading were correct then no he couldn't. The Death's Door was in bad shape, the damage had hit key points, knocking out he shields and half of her engines. It also appeared to have disabled three quarters of her landing bays and half her weapons. If he waited and didn't take the chance the Death's Door would be destroyed. He hated choices like this, why couldn't things be simpler? Another explosion almost knocked Drig off his feet as he stumbled on screen.

Jon said four words before he cut the transmission, "Granted, transmitting access codes."

A few of the bridge crew looked surprised.

"I have the Ge'daes Sir," Comm reported.

"Move us to intercept the Death's Door assailants, have Admiral Breq standby to change the access codes. Have the Ge'daes hold her position and standby for further instructions. Tell them no one is to pass the outer markers except the Death's Door or they are instructed by me to allow them entry. Have Admiral Breq send all available assistance."

The Atlantis' guns locked on to both of the aggressor ships as she approached. He guns fired when she got into range, tearing large gouges in the sides of both ships. On the hologram of the soon to be battlefield blips sprung to life as the station launched fighters followed by the Ge'daes.

Two of the Eutharan ships turned to lend support to the heavily damaged ships as they launched their own fighter support in response to the attack. They took pot shots at where the weapons fire had come from but the Atlantis was already clear and circling back to make another attack run.

This is how one of the final battles of the old Eutharan Empire started. Jon knew it would be a long road to where he headed, but he had gathered the friends he would need for the journey. Only time would tell if he was making the right choices.

Thanks to my editor BoB_McC