Releasing an aggravated breath, she offered him her hand. ”Here, help me up.”

  “Well, you did.” He took her hand and pulled her to her feet.

  “All right. I said please. Are you happy now?”

  He laughed. “Why is it so hard for you to admit it’s easy to forget he’s a machine?”

  She hesitantly shrugged and then blew out a breath in surrender. “He does kind of grow on you; I’ll admit that much. So I take it we’re still alone up here?”

  “Yeah. It seems to be safe. Sensors remain clear. There’s no indication that we’ve been followed or that there are any other aliens nearby, so I thought we’d stay here a little while longer and go through more of the Project Foresight files.”

  “What about the distress call?”

  “It’s repeated every five minutes for the last three hours. Whatever it is, it’s probably been calling out for a long time. It can wait a little longer, especially if we can go in more prepared. I just wish we had some way of scouting out the surface of the planet before heading down there ourselves. It’s too bad Grimmel didn’t leave us a drone.”

  Dag emerged from the compartment and walked over to the rear drawers. He stood on his tiptoes and opened the one in the center.

  Yasmin flinched as hundreds of small machines launched out of it, sweeping through the hold in a circle around them. Ducking behind Nicholas, she watched as they bunched together into a swirling tornado, moving too quickly to make out their shapes. They stopped moving almost as suddenly as they started, collapsing onto the desk and sticking together, building on top of each other, as if they were in a 3D printer.

  “Wow,” Nicholas said when a delta-winged wedge, approximately six feet long from head to tail and the same wingtip to wingtip, rested on tiny skids atop the deck.

  “Maybe you should have requested an espresso machine,” Yasmin quipped, equally amazed by the formation.

  “It looks great, Dag,” Nicholas said. “Can it do an espresso machine?” He laughed at his own joke.

  Dag didn’t move.

  “How do I fly it?” Nicholas asked.

  Dag still didn’t move.

  “Yazz, have you seen anything like this before?”

  “No,” Yasmin replied. “But I bet the Project Foresight files have information about everything in those drawers.”

  “Yeah, you’re probably right. Nice job, Dag.”

  Dag didn’t react to the compliment.

  “Let’s go take a look.”

  Chapter 3

  Briar was in one of the seats in the main compartment when Nicholas returned from the lower decks with Yasmin and Dag. Her hair remained slightly damp from a shower, her new clothes a little tight on her moderately overweight frame. She still looked tired, but she beamed at him as he crested the ladder and stepped onto the deck.

  “Good morning, Captain Shepherd,” she said.

  “Is it morning?” Nicholas replied.

  “I don’t know. I was sleeping. Now I’m awake. So it might as well be morning.”

  “In that case, good morning, Briar. How are you feeling?”

  “I’m holding it together, sir. With duct tape and paperclips, maybe, but I’m holding it together.”

  “You and I both,” Nicholas agreed.

  “Dag, you have a new leg,” Briar said, noticing the bot. “Much better.” Dag ignored her, returning to its preferred spot beneath Macey’s seat, where he remained out of sight. “Where are we now, Captain Shepherd? I noticed the planet is gone from the front screen.”

  “We’re tucked behind the planet’s moon,” Nicholas replied. “Staying out of sight. I thought you would all need a little rest. I took a short nap too, while Yazz fixed up Dag.”

  “Cooperation. Facilitation. I require assistance. Hahahaha. Hahaha. Haha.”

  Briar flinched, the distress message startling her as it played through the speakers. Her hands tightly gripped the armrests of the seat. “What the hell was that?”

  “We aren’t completely sure, but it’s coming from the planet,” Nicholas explained. “We’re going to check it out. Dag showed us we have a drone in our inventory.”

  “We do? That’s so cool.”

  “I’m going to wake the others,” Nicholas said. “Yazz, can you get the hard drive contents set up to display either on all of the terminals or the central projection here?” He knocked on the edge of the holotable occupying the middle of the space.

  “Sure,” Yasmin said.

  “The Round Table,” Briar said.

  “The what?” Nicholas asked.

  “King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. You’re like the King, and Missus Shepherd you’re Guinevere. That’s the Round Table. And the rest of us are the knights.”

  “You can be Sir Snores-a-lot,” Scott said, on his way down from the upper deck. He had also cleaned up and changed his clothes, swapping his stained t-shirt and jeans for Grimmel Towers security blues. They fit him snugly too, for completely different reasons than Briar.

  “And you can be Sir Sucks-a-lot,” Briar snapped.

  “Scott, are the others awake?” Nicholas asked, deterring an argument before one could start.

  “Yes, Captain,” he replied. “Thanks to Sal, there.” He jerked his head at Briar.

  “Sal?” she asked.

  “Snores...a...lot,” Scott reiterated. “You literally woke everyone up.”

  “So why didn’t you get up before me?”

  “I tried to go back to sleep. But then Gills started sawing too and I gave up. Macey said she was going to wake him after everyone else had used the facilities.”

  “How do you feel?” Nicholas asked him.

  “A little sore. A little overwhelmed. A little excited, to be honest. This has to be more interesting than becoming a janitor or something on the arkship. Have you figured out where we are yet, Captain?”

  “Not exactly. I’ve got more information to share but I don’t want to repeat it. I’ll wait till everybody’s here.”

  Macey’s feet appeared on the top of the ladder a moment later..

  “Hey, Macey.” Scott raised his voice. “Get Jennifer and Gills, will you?”

  She stopped her descent a couple rungs down and looked down at him. “Jenny’s just finishing up in the shower. Hold on. Hey, Gills, you lazy wanker!” she shouted up the ladder. “Quit your snuffing and get up! Cap’n wants you!”

  “And here comes Sir Shouts-a-lot,” Briar joked as Macey climbed slowly down the ladder.

  “Huh?” Macey replied, wincing when she reached the deck.

  “Nevermind.”

  “You okay?” Nicholas asked Macey.

  “Yeah, just got pains in muscles I didn’t know existed. You would think with all the running I’ve done over the last year I would be in better shape.” She stiff-walked to her usual seat and lowered herself gingerly into it. “Briar, you ain’t sore, love?”

  Briar shrugged. “Fat but fit, I guess. And at least ten years younger than you.”

  “That must be it. Don’t get old, sweetie. You won’t like it.”

  “Getting old is a blessing,” Briar replied. Her voice lowered. “One Luke won’t have if we don’t succeed in this mission.”

  A heavy silence settled over the room as Gills slid down the ladder, his feet bracketing the rails. He turned to Nicholas and came to attention. He remained in his fatigues—stains, sweat, blood and all. “Corporal Hess reporting for duty, sir.”

  “At ease, Corporal,” Nicholas said, turning to Briar and laying his hand on her shoulder. “We’re going to succeed, Briar. We have to, and not just for Luke.”

  “Yes, sir,” Slowly screwing up her face, she turned and scowled at Gills. “And here’s Sir Stinks-a-lot in all his smelly glory,” she added, lightening the mood enough to draw chuckles from everyone but Gills.

  “I’d rather smell than be caught dead in that getup,” he replied, relaxing his posture and making a disdainful face at Briar. “You look like a blueberry.”

  “Is that a fat joke?”

  “No, I’m mocking your clothes, not your weight.”

  “That’s enough,” Nicholas said, stopping the exchange before it escalated any further. “Why don’t you all take your seats? I'll brief you all as soon as Jennifer comes down.”

  “I’m here, Captain Shepherd,” she said, scurrying down the ladder and taking the last available seat.

  “Sir Sleeps-a-lot,” Briar said softly, sneaking it in before Nicholas could start speaking.

  “Cooperation. Facilitation. I require assistance. Hahahaha. Hahaha. Haha.”

  “There he goes again,” she added in response to the broadcast.

  “Frank, redirect the broadcast to the flight deck.”

  “Confirmed, Captain Shepherd,” Frank replied.

  Nicholas looked out at his gathered crew. They still looked tired, but he noticed a spark of energy in their eyes. An eagerness to be part of something bigger than themselves.

  “First order of business,” he said. “We need to set some ground rules. This isn’t a United States Space Force ship anymore, but we still need to operate in a professional manner if we want to stay alive out here. From this moment forward, you’ll address me as Captain Shepherd, Cap, or sir.” He looked at Yasmin. “With one exception for obvious reasons.”

  “Yes, sir,” Jennifer said.

  “You’ve already pretty much been doing that, so I don’t expect we’ll have any problems there. More importantly is how you address one another, and your roles on board. The military works because of chain-of-command. Without it there’s chaos. There aren’t many of us, so I don’t think we need to implement ranks. But it’s important you know the hierarchy. Yasmin, you’ll be my second-in-command on board Foresight and head of engineering.”

  “Yes, sir,” she replied, showing Nicholas she bought into his idea for bringing structure to the crew.

  “Jennifer, you’ll continue as my co-pilot,” Nicholas said. “We’ll level up your training as time allows. You’ll be third in the COC while we’re on board Foresight.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Gills, you’re the Gunny on this boat. You’re second in command off Foresight. Briar, Macey, Scott, you’re part of my infantry, and you all report to Gills. Scott, you’re Gills’ second. Understood?”

  “Yes, sir,” they replied.

  “Good. Next, to be clear, there’s a time and place for banter and joking around. During briefings isn’t it. When we’re formally gathered like this, I expect you to contribute in a professional manner. I can’t overstate how serious our situation is here. I know there’s a part of it that may seem like some great exciting adventure, especially compared to the alternatives, but don’t forget what brought us to this point. Humankind is at war with an enemy we don’t fully understand. Just because we’re away from Earth doesn’t mean the war is over. Don’t forget what Luke sacrificed so you could be here.”

  “Yes, sir,” they replied.

  “The truth is, the war against this enemy is only just beginning, and we have a role to play in the outcome. I’m supposed to be standing here addressing a squad of elite Marines. That’s who you’re replacing. But that doesn’t mean we can’t succeed. That doesn’t mean this mission is doomed. If we all pull together, we have a chance. Do you agree?”

  “Yes, sir! Oorah! ” Scott tacked on. He grinned sheepishly and shrugged when Nicholas chastened him with a look. Scott promptly looked down at his feet.

  “All right, listen up. Yasmin recovered the hard drive from Aaron Grimmel’s personal computer in the Grimmel Corporation tower. We located a cache of resources he left for us to better prepare for this mission. We’ve only reviewed the first introductory recording so far, but I think it’s important that you understand that Mister Grimmel believes our actions could be crucial to defeating the enemy who sent the trife to Earth.” He paused, giving the words a moment to sink in. “To that end, I thought it best for us all to go over the data on the hard drive together . This way, we’ll all have the information, and you’ll know where to go back and access it if the need arises. Yazz, do you have it ready?”

  “It’s active on the Round Table interface,” Yasmin said.

  Nicholas noticed Briar beaming at the use of her name for the holotable as he tapped the switch to activate the files. The projector cast the list of folders into the air above the table at Nicholas’ eye level. The others all swiveled their seats to face it.

  He glanced around the table at the others again. “I know you’re sore. I know you’re scared and tired and hurting. Look around the Round Table. Look one another in the eye. This is about something bigger than all of us. Whatever happens, I think the days ahead will be the most grueling and challenging days of our lives. But if we work together, if we have each other’s back, if we become like King Arthur and his Knights and become one family, I know the days ahead will also be the most rewarding. What do you think?”

  “Yes, sir!” they shouted.

  “Then let’s get started."

  Nicholas looked over the Project Foresight folders floating in front of him revealing the list of files. He noticed a folder entitled TOYBOX which he assumed had something to do with both Dag and the drone in the hold. He didn’t enter it, instead directing his finger toward a video file labeled as HUNGER, recalling Harry’s exclamation of “I hunger” before he sprouted tentacles from his arms.

  Frank cut in on the loudspeakers before he could open the folder.

  “Captain Shepherd, an unidentified object has just entered sensor range.”

  Chapter 4

  A wave of heightened tension passed through the compartment. Nicholas didn’t flinch, using the controls on the edge of the holotable to switch the projection to the threat display. A red wedge sat at the far end, its velocity and heading printed beneath it.

  “Frank, show the estimated flight path,” he said.

  The path appeared ahead of the wedge as a curving line that would bring the ship to the planet’s surface close to the area Frank had already marked as the source of the transmission.

  “It looks like they’re interested in the same thing we are,” Yasmin said.

  “Frank, can you get a better visual of the ship?” Nicholas asked.

  “Not at this time,” Frank replied. “For a better visual, it would need to cross our inner sensor field.”

  Yellow shading appeared on the grid to highlight the reach of the ship’s different sensors. The unidentified vessel’s path kept it well away from the moon. Intentionally?

  “Jennifer, go up to the flight deck and strap in. Monitor the grid and standby just in case I need you to take over from Frank.”

  “Yes, sir,” Jennifer replied, leaving her seat at the Round Table and taking the ladder up to the flight deck.

  Nicholas tapped the table controls again, returning to the list of files. He opened the TOYBOX folder, revealing a list of ten subfolders.

  “Nick, what are you doing?” Yasmin asked.

  “We have a drone,” he replied. “But I don’t know how to use it. I’m looking for the answer.”

  Scanning the list of subfolders, he tapped into each from the top. The first was probably the oddest of all. Labeled MSPEAR, it contained a video and a single image of a small device that reminded him of a large construction nail or a railroad spike, made of the same black alloy as Foresight’s hull. He remembered seeing something like it in the box of weapons they had taken from Grimmel’s tower. Since it was in the folder, it was probably worth carrying.

  He skipped over the second folder, labeled DAG. The third appeared to be the energy unit from the included image, though the folder had been labeled QDM.

  The fourth, labelled BZZ, contained images of the tiny machines that had formed the larger drone ship, as well as a document that, at a quick glance, appeared to provide scientific specifications and blueprints for the design. The folder also had a video file in it.

  He didn’t open it right away, instead flipping the projection back to the threat grid. The single contact remained within sensor range, following the course Frank had predicted toward the planet.

  “Yasmin, can you open a second copy of the Project Foresight folder?” he asked, switching back to his projected version. “I found the drone under TOYBOX, then BZZ. There’s a spec document inside. I need to know how fast the drone can accelerate.”

  “Faster than us, I’m sure,” Yasmin replied, opening the folder and then the file in question. “It doesn’t have to worry about crushing anyone with G-forces.”

  “Cap’n, what should we do?” Macey asked.

  “Just hold tight and observe,” Nicholas replied. “You’ll have your chance to contribute.” He opened the video file.

  Aaron Grimmel stood in what appeared to be the research and development lab in the Grimmel Corporation towers in London. The cavernous space spread out behind him, completely deserted. The same machines that had formed the droneship circled about Grimmel’s head in a tight cyclone before shooting off through the space, twisting and winding around one another like a swarm of bees.

  “Captain Shepherd,” Grimmel said. “I trust you’ve recently discovered these little monsters. Haha! Or if you haven’t, you’ll want to access the toybox to play. I call these microbots the Swarm, for obvious reasons. Two thousand independent machines that absorb energy similarly to the xenotrife and store it within a crystalline battery to use for varying levels of thrust. Each one is loaded with a custom AI which allows them to communicate with one another and work together to solve problems. Like Dag, they will respond to verbal commands but you can also interface with them through the primary controls. Once they’re released from containment, the option will become available to you in the menu.”

  “Did you know about that?” Nicholas asked, glancing at Yasmin.

  “No,” she replied. “It would be impossible for one person to see every line of code in Frank’s system.”

  “You can pilot the Swarm remotely through any of the available terminals, but it’s more efficient to allow them to operate in a semi-autonomous mode and only issue commands to them. You are an excellent pilot, Captain Shepherd, but they’re better at flying themselves, believe me.”