“Captain,” Gordon said, “I’m opening a channel with the interchange. Connection established and in-and-out coordinates have been relayed.”

  They had no sooner left the outer reaches of Earth’s atmosphere when space began to fluctuate, some fifteen thousand miles away. The Lilly took up the point position, with a vee formation of light cruisers to her aft.

  “Helm, phase-shift all of us to the mouth of that wormhole.”

  “Aye, sir.”

  The bridge flashed white as they phase-shifted into position. Then, poised at the mouth of the wormhole, The Lilly hesitated briefly—the first ship drawn in.

  They’d traveled sixty-five light-years in an instant. Jason had instinctively closed his eyes, wanting to avoid the usual disorientation that would follow. He opened his eyes to a haze of orange amber in the display view. Several planets, both dark and lifeless, took up most of the forward segment of the display.

  Jason could smell the familiar aromatic fragrance of tobacco to his right. “How you doing, Billy?” Jason asked without looking over.

  “Doing well, Cap. Thought I’d come up and see what this mysterious Orange Corridor was all about.”

  Jason saw Orion give Billy a quick smile as she moved back to tactical. “Captain … huh, this is interesting. This planet, Allaria, is really unique,” Orion said.

  “In what way?”

  “By looking at her, you’d think she was a dead planet, but there’s life down there.” Orion transferred the view on her console to a forward segment on the wrap-around display. The scene of the dark and lifeless planet was magnified and enhanced.

  “What’s the population?” Billy asked.

  “The planet itself is small, about half the size of Earth. The amount of life is so insignificant I’m betting any other vessel would have missed it. There may be microscopic organic life that I’m not picking up.”

  “How about those bigger than a toaster?” Billy asked.

  Orion chuckled at that. “Thirty, forty thousand … maybe. Very little.”

  “So those are the Allarians? How is it possible that anything could survive down there? It looks as if the planet’s been dead for millions of years,” Jason said.

  “You’re getting into Ricket territory here, but I would surmise that there are areas that are inhabitable, life sustaining,” Orion said.

  The Lilly AI’s voice came to life, announcing there were approaching vessels. Orion was back at her console. “Four vessels, Captain … comparable to the size of Craing heavy cruisers. Better armed than our own Craing ships.”

  “Seaman Gordon, let’s hail them, but friendly-like. We’re not here to pick a fight.”

  “Why are we here?” Billy asked. “If you don’t mind me asking.”

  “We’re here on our own, light-years from Allied space, in a dangerous neighborhood. Intel suggests the Allarians are looking for new friends. Apparently, they’ve been bullied by the Craing for millennia—periodically invaded for no reason other than to keep them in line. Truth is, if we hang out here, in open Craing space, eventually we’ll be detected. We’re hoping they’ll be receptive to our dropping in on them.”

  “Incoming!” barked Orion. “Twenty-four fusion-tipped missiles.”

  Jason’s eyes flashed to the display. The Lilly quickly took out six of the missiles with her plasma cannons.

  “No response to our repeated hails, sir,” Gordon said.

  Jason watched as the remaining missiles radically changed course—moving off in different trajectories at incredible speeds.

  “That’s something new,” Billy said.

  “Yeah, and I don’t like it,” Jason said, his eyes never leaving the display.

  “Another eight warships just emerged from the planet, Captain. You still haven’t given the command to return fire.”

  “Just keep taking out their missiles … maybe they’ll realize we’re not here looking to start a war.”

  “Aye, sir,” Gunny said, not looking too pleased.

  “I might have an idea,” Jason said, glancing over at Billy.

  Gunny looked up at the display. “More missiles coming from the other ships. Counting what’s left of the original barrage, that’s sixty-six crazy-ass trajectories no one’s able to track, including The Lilly.”

  Three missiles zeroed in on one of their light cruisers and all struck her starboard side simultaneously.

  “The Rainmaker’s shields are down to thirty percent, Captain,” Gunny said. “The yields of those fusion tips are amazing.”

  Both Jason and Billy looked at Orion. “Just saying … impressive,” Gunny said with a shrug.

  Their ships were taking direct, near lethal, hits. Jason was well aware that he had mere minutes before his small, new convoy of U.S. ships would be destroyed.

  “So what was your idea, Cap?” Billy asked.

  “Hold on a second, Billy.” Jason had two fingers to his ear and was talking to someone off the bridge. “No, right now would be better. Gunny will forward the coordinates to us.”

  “Gunny, I need you to lock on to the Allarian command ship, whichever ship you assess that to be.”

  “I can do that, Cap,” Orion replied, working fast at her console.

  “Once you have that, I want you to transmit their exact bridge coordinates to me. We’re on comms. You have the bridge, XO,” Jason said, pushing Billy toward the exit. Together they ran down the corridor toward the DeckPort.

  They emerged on Deck 2 and in several strides were at the ship’s armory. By the time Jason and Billy had dressed in their combat suits and grabbed up sidearms and multi-guns, Traveler was entering the compartment, heavy hammer in hand. He had three bloody scratches down one side of his face.

  “I was up in a tree. I came as quickly as I could, Captain.”

  As much as Jason wanted to ask him about that, he knew they had no time to spare. “Here’s your belt.” Jason handed Traveler one of the extra-large phase-shift belts, along with an accompanying wristband. Jason and Billy finished putting on their own belts—both nodding they were ready. Jason contacted Orion. “You got those coordinates for me?”

  “Aye, Cap. Check your HUD. You should have them.”

  “Check … got ’em,” Jason said.

  “Cap, all our cruisers’ shields are down to ten percent and falling.”

  “How about The Lilly?”

  “Eighty-six percent.”

  Jason acknowledged her and cut the connection. With a quick smile, he looked at Billy and Traveler. “Lock and load, guys.” And with that, Jason phase-shifted the three of them off The Lilly.

  * * *

  In a flash Jason, Billy and Traveler phase-shifted onto the bridge of the Allarian command ship. The bridge was large and circular—about the same size as that of a heavy cruiser.

  Jason quickly took in their surroundings and, assessing the foreign crew, did a double take. The crew consisted of small, hovering, machine-like creatures about the size of an average table lamp—table lamps with mechanical arm appendages, and hands with five finger-like digits. Their tops were clear, enclosed, egg-shaped containers; inside them sloshed a pinkish, viscous liquid, a full-sized brain, with two extended eyeballs. The creatures, uncertain, hovered around them. Billy and Jason exchanged glances.

  “Who is the captain of this vessel?” Jason asked.

  Two of the strange aliens raised an appendage and fired at Jason. Protected by his combat suit, the impact was still sufficient to knock him on his ass. In a single stride, Traveler was upon them, batting away one, and backhanding the second with the same hand, knocking the creature’s vessel-head to the deck. The alien came to a stop, upside down.

  Jason got to his feet and yelled, “Stop! We are not here to fight with you. Please! Haven’t you noticed, we’ve not returned fire toward your ships?”

  It was then Jason noticed another brain encapsulated-vessel coming forward, from the back of the bridge.

  “What do you want here?” a voice said, sounding surprisingly human.

  “I want you to know that we are enemies of the Craing. We only wish to speak to you,” Jason said. “Please halt your attack on my ships. I am Captain Jason Reynolds.”

  The creature’s two blue-eyed orbs continued to stare back at Jason … then they rotated slightly, taking in Billy, and then Traveler. Almost imperceptibly, the vessel-headed alien nodded toward another crewmember, sloshing around the pinkish liquid in a swirling motion in the process.

  Jason heard Orion’s voice over his comms, sounding relieved, and telling him that the attack had suddenly stopped.

  The alien spoke again through a small panel at the bottom front of his head-vessel: “You have invaded Allarian space. Your warships are Craing. That alone speaks for itself—you are our enemy.”

  Jason shook his head. “Do I look Craing? Does he look Craing?” Jason asked, gesturing toward Traveler. “I don’t think so. And those Craing warships were taken from the Craing in a battle—a battle I won. I have close to a thousand others, just like them.”

  The Allarian, the one Jason now assumed was the leader, looked to be contemplating on that news. Mechanical hands clenched and released several times before the creature answered.

  “What exactly do you want from us?”

  Chapter 11

  They hadn’t moved from the same spot on the bridge of the Allarian command ship. Jason had sent Traveler back to The Lilly, leaving only himself and Billy to deal with the Allarians. Jason was quickly becoming impatient. He wanted to get his own warships out of sight. He’d been listening to reports from Orion over his comms that several space freighters had moseyed close by within the last few minutes and he felt it was only a matter of time before a Craing warship discovered their small convoy. The captain’s name was unpronounceable; even translated, it sounded like gibberish. Jason gave up and simply called him Captain. Once Jason made it clear to them that their ships weren’t a threat to the Allarians, but were actually aligned with them in wanting the Craing’s presence permanently banished from space, things got somewhat less tense. The truth was, much of their plan hinged on gaining access to this area of space, space that was so conveniently close to the Craing worlds, not only a perfect jumping off point, but a potential allied force if the shit hit the fan.

  But communication between him and the Allarian captain was progressing painfully slowly. They were a highly intellectual race, Jason found, but emotionally immature and ultra-sensitive to the point of distraction. More than once, he realized he had hurt the captain’s feelings simply by using an inappropriate word or by making an unchecked exasperated expression.

  “Please do not mock us, Captain. We have not always been this way. At one time we too were humanoid. It has only been through our own ingenuity and perseverance that we have survived at all,” the Allarian captain said.

  “Was it Craing invaders who did this to you?” Jason asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Why would they do such a thing? Please don’t take offense, but why didn’t they simply eradicate, eliminate, your populace, as they have done to so many others throughout the universe?”

  “We were always more intelligent and innovative than our Craing neighbors. We too would have been eradicated, as you put it, but they kept us alive to perform a whole slew of tasks—mostly in design and engineering—to support their military efforts. But that changed too, and our populace was eventually killed off, mercilessly … with the exception of about fifty thousand of us. Select citizenry brains were placed into sub-freezing cryonics storage … a just-in-case measure, should they be needed later. Then, twenty years ago, a fleet of passing Craing warships fired enough fusion-tipped missiles to decimate our two planets five times over. That was the end of our worlds: Armageddon for the Allarian people.”

  “Yet you still survived! You are here, talking with me. You have progressed to the point where you have highly-advanced warships of your own,” Jason remarked.

  “Yes. A handful of our kind lived through the radiation assault and developed the first, very crude, hover prosthetics. Cryo-stored brains were thawed out and, after thousands of failures, they were successful at interfacing with them. I … we … are the result of their heroic past efforts and ingenuity.”

  “Well, I commend you on your people’s determination and tenacity. That’s an amazing story and it only underscores why the Craing Empire, once and for all, needs to be destroyed.”

  The Allarian captain became quiet and Jason wondered what he’d said now to offend him. The seconds ticked by. As his crew hovered about, faint sloshing sounds filled the awkward silence.

  “Captain Reynolds, we have pulled ourselves back, literally, from death itself. You must understand, trusting you, or any foreign culture, does not come easy. We have no need of friends … or allies. We built our warships alone, all within the darkness of a dead planet. We live for one purpose … to one day avenge our ancestors. We cannot afford to trust others. I’m sorry, but you must leave here now and not return.”

  Jason slowly nodded. Gazing at the deck, he contemplated on what the captain said. He understood and even admired their determination to still go it alone.

  “We will leave you then.” Jason looked at Billy and then turned back toward the captain. “Um … you said you were once humanoid.”

  “Yes.”

  “And of course you remember what that’s like. What that felt like, yes?”

  “Of course.”

  Jason nodded. “My vessel, The Lilly, is highly advanced. Far more advanced than the Craing warships, or your own vessels. We have a device called a MediPod. There is a chance that you and your kind could be brought back to your original humanoid configurations.”

  “That is not possible. That capability does not exist in the universe.”

  “That’s fine. Believe what you wish.” Jason slowly looked from one crewmember to the next. “I’m sure you feel perfectly confident to speak for everyone on your planet. Obviously, you haven’t a problem condemning your kind to live like this into eternity … nothing more than thousands of brains sloshing around in glass-enclosed buckets … and, as the years drift by, your memory of once being corporeal will fade away—one day, all forgotten. So … have at it.” Irritated, Jason moved next to Billy and prepared to phase-shift off the bridge.

  “Wait!”

  All eyes were on the Allarian captain.

  “What would you want in return?”

  “First of all, I cannot guarantee that this procedure is even possible. Our medical doctor would have to be brought in … tests would need to be conducted. But I’m optimistic.”

  “If it is possible, what would you want in return?”

  “For the short term, my small fleet needs immediate sanctuary. Long term, Allarians will join the Alliance. Every effort will be made to keep your existence here secret from the Craing. But when the time comes, you will join us. Fight alongside the Alliance to bring down the Craing Empire.”

  “You have your sanctuary, Captain. We will fight alongside you, and your Alliance.”

  * * *

  It took several hours longer to work through the details and logistics to make it all happen. The decision was made and the Allarian captain, along with two other Allarians, would be the first to undergo the transforming procedure on The Lilly. Dira was contacted early on and was in the midst of researching what would be necessary, on her end, to properly reconfigure the MediPod. She was optimistic—if they used the new Minian’s MediPod, the one most recently added to Medical.

  Jason and Billy walked single file behind the Allarian captain as they were escorted into the bowels of his ship.

  “Watch your head up here, Cap—low-hanging crossbeam coming up,” Billy instructed, talking over his shoulder.

  “See it, thanks.” Jason started to feel somewhat claustrophobic in the ultra-narrow corridor. It was clear the Allarians now were many-years-accustomed to their predicament, their unique situation. Although their ship was configured much like any other space warship, there were no seats or chairs, no tables, no bathrooms, no mess hall, no sleeping quarters. Truth be told, a hovering, bodiless, brain-directed being needed none of those things. They walked single file behind the Allarian captain, down several corridors, stooping often to avoid hitting their heads on any number of things.

  They finally reached the ship’s flight deck. Scores of stacked fighter drones lined the walls. They looked menacing and capable of inflicting lethal damage. The deck was open to space and Jason could see The Lilly, and the other U.S. cruisers, off in the distance. Jason spoke into his comms: “Go ahead, phase-shift her over.”

  One of the smaller shuttles from The Lilly’s own flight deck appeared without any warning. Three sets of eyeballs—the Allarian captain’s and those of his two crewmembers—bobbled about with the sudden appearance of the shuttle. Slowly, she entered the flight deck.

  “Captain Reynolds, this phase-shift process … That alone convinces me you have the more advanced technology. We would be most interested in acquiring this capability. Perhaps one day …”

  “One step at a time, Captain. But perhaps that’s possible,” Jason replied.

  Once all were on board, the shuttle phase-shifted back to The Lilly’s flight deck. The gangway deployed and everyone filed out. Dira was waiting for them below, on the flight deck. She smiled and looked excited. Jason watched as she greeted the three hovering Allarians. Their strange forms turned this way and that, eyes never still.

  Dira’s expression changed to one of concern as they came closer to her. “Welcome. My name is Dira. I am the medical doctor here on board The Lilly.”