When Blaze entered into the Nowhere taking the Rogue gunship and a frigate with her, the sudden void where in an instant thousands of souls shouted and died, hit Eve like a pike into her heart. She was stifling in that void and felt sick listening to the hurray cries raising from the EA warships. She looked at the burning ships, at the dazzling plasma-beams, she mind-heard the cries, the curses, the hate. The ruthless battle was raging as if nothing had happened, it looked like an obscene monster with a life and will of its own. A feeling of nausea was overcoming her. Then Eve felt JS's hand squeezing hers with affection. The warmth of his love made her regain her wits. "Blaze, thousands of people died in a flash!" Eve mind-murmured. "They're dying by the thousand ..." she repeated watching two allied ships on fire. She couldn't help but keep track of the ships that were struck, theirs and the enemy's. Vickie jerked: a shot had hit her. Eve felt the pain of the ship and all she wanted was this to be over. Blaze's loss and the Babelians' betrayal had opened a gap in the pincer movement and Scorched Earth had engaged Fierce in a deadly duel. "Kurz, try to close that gap." JS ordered, while trying to avoid a total collapse of his weakened centre. "My uncle tactics are nonexistent, he just relies on brute force!" a puzzled Maurr shouted. With a great boost in confidence from their overwhelming number and hoping for an easy victory the bulk of the Rogue fleet went on charging at Vickie and the EA's ships next to her like a bull. Another blow hit Vickie destroying a gun turret. "Hold on, Vickie!" JS thought, "they're giving us a pretty tough time." An EA cruiser on Vickie's right exploded with a blinding light, the Procionians were collapsing. This was what JS feared: the Rogues were stronger in numbers and firepower, moreover some of their captains, noticing the gap in the encirclement, ported sharply to face Maurr and Kurz. JS made his decision: the battle was becoming a bloody and bootless melee. "Retreat. All ships prepare to jump." "Belay that order!" Farnese shouted. "My order stands, Mr. President." JS said in a tone that brooked no argument. "Maurr, S-Nikki, jump." Etta jumped, Maurr fired a last shot before leaping into the hyperspace, one by one the EA and allied ships followed. "Vickie, jump!" At the RV a council of war was held. As soon as everybody was seated Farnese shouted: "How could you turn tail, Sea? Leave our Earth to its fate? We were winning!" "We won the day." JS said quietly. "The gunship and four enemy frigates has been destroyed. The RATs have been virtually wiped out from the space. To stay as long as there are only two guys in spacesuit left, hitting each other with a wrench, isn't an option. Not to me at least." "If we had stayed, we would have been slain!" the Procionian Commander exclaimed. "What if they invade the Earth?" 3TC asked trying to put JS in a bad light. "There weren't massive troop-carriers." GOD stepped in. "Yet a Rogue fleet off the Earth is unacceptable." Farnese was still very incensed. "A pretty battered fleet, I doubt the Admiral is still there," said Maurr. "They got a trashing, even if they'll boast they put us on the run." "They'd fly back to the Ophiuchus 56 facility." Kahrr added. "And according to what you say that, the crystal ball?" 3TC didn't want to give up. "No," JS grinned, "according to reports from spy-sats in the Oort cloud. The Rogue fleet left, after having detonated the RS Warmonger." After visiting the sick-bay, Eve went to her quarter leaving to JS the task to greet Farnese. The thought of Blaze and her crew couldn't leave her. JS found her sitting straight on a couch gazing into space. He picked her up and sat her on his lap and cuddled her feathering soft kisses on her hair and forehead. At last Eve wept as she had never been able to do in those three years. -- Thanks!