Dear Mrs. Dodd, It is my duty to inform you that Captain Eric Dodd was killed in action. The tragic loss of Captain Dodd has saddened all of us in this command, and none more than myself. My brother and I have been guests in your home on many occasions, and those times we sat and dined together are some of my most cherished memories. Captain Dodd was my mentor, and my friend. I will miss him deeply. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need anything at all. Again, accept my deepest condolences and sympathy in your loss. Captain Jack Aestar. Jack sat back and stared at the words he had written. He had followed the sample condolence letter, but it seemed an empty thing. All the required elements of the letter were there; the status of the death, but without stating any circumstances that could give away operational security, then a personal note to the bereaved, and finishing with an offer of post death assistance from the command. But, how could someone’s life be adequately put into so few words? Jack printed the letter out, and even that seemed an insult to Captain Dodd’s life. The sample instructions in the Captain’s Guide stated the font and size of the type to be used, but it seemed so cold and emotionless. The intercom squawked. “Captain Aestar to the CIC.” Jack stood and pushed the intercom button. “On the way.” He flipped the desk up and stowed it back into the wall. The cabin wasn’t big, for a Ruk, but for an Aeden it seemed a luxurious and spacious affair. Jack hardly noticed anymore how everything was oversized, but still, it would have been nice to have something that fit correctly. The door to Jack’s cabin opened onto the CIC and the stairs that led up to the flight deck. Jack pulled the door open, expecting the peaceful setting it had been when he’d gone in to write the letter to Mrs. Dodd, but instead now found every crew member either at their station, or rushing to it. Jack pushed his way to the Captain’s pedestal chair and took a seat. He still thought it looked like a submarine. “I have the Bridge,” said Jack. “Captain has the Bridge,” shouted Lt. Keeley, the Communications Officer. The Navigation Officer was also the X.O., but he was injured and in sick bay, so Lt. Keeley was now the acting X.O. “Report,” said Jack. “Sir, there were large trees grown up around the Gate. Lt. Commander Tom’s fighter hit the trees and cleared a path for the rest of us to make it through, but his ship went down in the process. Chief ordered the rest of the fleet up to 10,000 feet in a holding pattern. That’s where we are now.” “Where’s Chief Massus?” “On the Flight Deck assisting Lt. Brett.” “Have we located Tom’s fighter?” “Yes Sir, it’s in a small clearing. The canopy is open and the ejection seat was deployed, but we have no communications with him yet.” “Is there enough room for Dr. Lanthu’s ship to land?” “Maybe, just barely,” said Lt. Keeley. Jack opened a channel to the Fleet. “This is Captain Aestar. Lt. Commander Tom’s Fighter has gone down, but he did eject, though we have no word of his status yet. Dr. Lanthu, you have the smallest and most nimble ship among us. Descend and search for Tom, and if you can, land next to the Fighter and make an assessment whether it is recoverable. If it is not, attempt to transfer the remaining fuel from the Fighter to your ship. Once you have Tom and are away from the Fighter, contact us and I will destroy the Fighter with a missile.” “This is Dr. Lanthu, understood, breaking from formation now.” Jack rubbed a finger across his mustache. Luca said there wasn’t a mustache there, but there was, Jack could feel it. He thought it made him look older. “Commander Sala’je, head to orbit and conduct passive scans of the solar system. Keep radio silence unless you spot something, and remain in orbit monitoring until we are finished recovering the Gate.” “You got it, Jacky dear, breaking formation now,” replied Commander Sala’je. Jack sighed. How do you deal with someone like Sala’je? “Commander Talbot, go ahead and try to land near the Gate and begin the disassembly.” “Understood, breaking formation now,” replied Commander Talbot. Private Bowan entered the CIC carrying a tray with a cup on it. Bowan came up to Jack and held the tray out. Jack shook his head. “No thanks, I don’t drink coffee,” said Jack. Bowan leaned in and whispered. “It’s hot chocolate. The crew expects the Captain to be sipping calmly from a cup of coffee as if all is well. It’s part of crew morale.” “Really? How do you know?” asked Jack. “Gunny told me,” said Bowan. Jack smiled. “You got the Sergeant you wanted, how’s it going?” “It’s great, I really like being part of a team,” said Bowan. “Gunny says he wants me to be your personal steward while we’re on the ship.” Jack took the cup and looked at it. “You know, if you wanted the crew to think I was drinking coffee, you probably shouldn’t have put the big marshmallows in it.” Bowan glanced at the cup, only now realizing his mistake. “Oops.” Jack saw Lt. Keeley looking on in amusement. “Lt. Keeley, tell the Flight Deck to plot a two-hundred mile circle around the Gate. I want a detailed ground scan. We’re looking for anything that might indicate where the Ruk landed during The Great Re-Build.” “Aye, Captain,” replied the Lieutenant. “And Private Bowan, if you want a cover for the chocolate, go make a cup of hot chocolate for everyone, then they won’t think the Captain is off on a ski trip all by himself.” Bowan nodded rapidly. “Yes Sir, good idea.” Jack sat back in the chair and sipped at the chocolate. He let his mind relax and ran through the lists of things to do that Captain Dagas and Captain Dodds had taught him, but which ones really needed his attention, and which ones could be left to the crew? His stomach rumbled and he realized he was hungry, which meant the crew was likely hungry also, but they were in the middle of operations within the atmosphere, and there was the potential of enemy forces arriving at any time. Jack pressed the intercom button for the Galley. “Chief Tibbs, let’s do cold rations at stations for lunch.” “Aye, Captain,” replied the Galley Chief. Jack’s eyes flicked to the X.O. to see if the Lieutenant had anything to say about the order for cold rations, but the man didn’t look up from the plotting board; he was busy with the ground scan. Someone handed Jack a fuel consumption report. Jack scanned the report quickly and signed it. They had enough fuel left for another 124 days of continuous operations, provided they didn’t get into another battle, or had to fly around within the atmosphere. Battle and atmospheric flight burned fuel at a ridiculous rate. The thrust engines needed the fuel, but all their other power consumption could be handled by the nuclear reactor. He was about to take another sip of hot chocolate when someone else put an ammunition report in front of him. He spent a little longer reading this report. They had used two of the 24 ballistic nuclear missiles, and still had 394,396 out of 400,000 of the 30mm rounds for the chain guns. He’d thought they used a lot more than that; they were still looking pretty good. Jack signed the report and handed it back. Heavy turbulence shook the ship and spilled some of the hot chocolate in Jack’s lap. Okay, so if coffee was such a big tradition, how did other Captains keep from getting their coffee spilled in their laps? Jack wondered how an order to use sippy cups would go over with the crew. “Sir, we’ve encountered a storm front,” reported the X.O. Jack looked up from his chocolate. “How long before it reaches Commander Talbot at the Gate?” “Four hours, Sir.” “Send the weather report to Commander Talbot,” ordered Jack. “Aye, Captain.” Jack had no more than set his chocolate aside when the ship banked hard over. “Report!” The X.O. grabbed a railing and listened to a report over his headphones. “We’re what??” Jack felt the vibration of the chain guns firing. “Sound General Quarters,” shouted Jack. “X.O. what is it? Eroden?” “Flight Deck reports we’re under attack by… pterodactyls… they’re throwing rocks at us.” An assistant radio operator turned around in his chair. “Sir, Dr. Lanthu just reported in, he found Lt. Commander Tom, he’s okay… but… they were attacked by… velociraptors? Their fighting their way back to Dr. Lanthu’s ship.” Another crew member turned to Jack. “Captain, Dr. Lanthu’s daughter is on the radio screaming something about a dinosaur is trying to eat her ship.” Jack opened a channel to Commander Sala’je. “Commander, break orbit, maximum speed to Dr. Lanthu’s position, weapons free, they’re under attack.” “Eroden?” asked Commander Sala’je. “No, dinosaurs!” shouted Jack. Commander Sala’je didn’t even hesitate. “We’re on the way.” “Captain, Dr. Lanthu is on the radio for you,” shouted the radio operator. “Put him on speaker,” replied Jack. The sounds of Dr. Lanthu running and the sound of gunfire exploded onto the CIC speakers. “Jack… the dinosaurs… are using… primitive weapons… warn… my daughter…” “Help is on the way, Doctor.” “Forget… about me… get my daughter… out of here…” “We’re getting everyone out, just hang on,” shouted Jack. Jack closed the connection and opened another to Commander Talbot. “Commander, set a defensive perimeter, now!” “I know, they just hit us,” replied Commander Talbot. “I could use some air support, there’s a battle formation of Spinosaurus on us, and their attack is deliberate and organized. Be advised, some of the dinosaurs are using bows and spears. Jack, do you realize what this place is?” “I know, just hold on, we’re coming.” Jack looked up at the X.O. “Full speed back to Commander Talbot’s position.” The Lieutenant passed the order to the flight deck, then came up next to Jack and lowered his voice. “What’s going on, dinosaurs using weapons? What did the Aeden do 200,000 years ago?” Jack took a deep breath and willed himself to try and remain calm. All the fear from his year on the run after he’d first fallen through the Gate and became a World Walker flooded back. Jack locked eyes with the Lieutenant. “It wasn’t a colony on Planet 1, it was a secret research facility. That’s why Commander Talbot found no record of it.” Jack took another breath. “This is where the Aeden created the Sherata tigers, those dinosaurs are the early failed experiments.” “Great Tree protect us, what are we going to find on Planet 2 and 3?” asked the X.O. Jack shook his head. “I don’t know, but we have to destroy those Gates before Captain Dagas sends a rescue mission.”