Date: Sat, 15 Oct 2005 16:40:14 +0000
From: Douglas DD DD <thehakaanen@hotmail.com>
Subject: The Boys of the Lady Lex Chapter 61

Scooter has his theory. He got it believed. But, there is theory and there
is reality, just like there are war games and there is war. The boys will
have to grow up fast as reality hits them in a hurry. Enjoy. <Ben and
Douglas>


The Boys of the Lady Lex
Chapter 61
"Wormholes"
Written By Douglas DD and Benjamin T. C.


Douglas lay on top of Scooter, somewhat dazed and exhausted. "You are one
hell of a bottom," Douglas said.

"Better than me?" Ben asked. Ben was on the floor entangled in Jeff's
limbs. Jeff had taken Ben doggy style on the floor, while Douglas had
filled Scooter's bowels on Scooter's narrow bed.

"Nobody is better than that," Douglas said. "But you should try him some
time. He's good."

"We'd better be getting back to our own cabin," Ben said, not wanting to go
down that road. He still had memories of the jealous feelings he had had
regarding Scooter months ago. He was certain they were gone now, but he saw
no reason to push the issue. The little steamy sex session the four of them
just had, had been a good one, and was needed by all of four of them. The
events of the day had built up a great deal of stress, and sex was the
ideal release. In fact, he had been the one who suggested it.

Douglas and Ben dressed, gave Scooter and Jeff each a good-bye kiss, and
went back to their cabin. If today had been big, tomorrow would be
huge. The time right after their meeting with the senior officers had been
spent discussing how they thought the officers would react. They watched
the officers leave Captain Hatcher's office, and then went to the dining
hall for dinner. Just as dinner ended an announcement came over the PA
telling the crew that there would be an all-ship meeting in the main hangar
area right after breakfast at oh eight hundred. The four boys then went to
Scooter and Jeff's cabin and speculated as to the purpose of the
meeting. As far as they were concerned it had to mean they believed in
Scooter's theory.

The other issue that concerned, not only them, but the other cadets of the
Lady Lex was whether they would get to finish their baseball game against
the "Orion". To them, the fate of their home was still on the line, and
without a win they would end up second in the Olympics. They all knew
Admiral Whitaker's reputation, and they were sure that, if they didn't get
a win, the Admiral would decommission their ship. A tie wouldn't do; they
needed the win.

After a while serious talk ended and serious sex became the order of the
day.

Ben and Douglas did their nightly routine, kissed each other goodnight and
crashed in their own beds. The events of the day had exhausted them.

*****

At oh eight hundred hours the crews of the "Orion", "Gettysburg",
"Monitor", and "Lexington" held similar meetings in their main meeting
areas; comfortable auditoriums on all ships but the Lady Lex, where the
cadets had to sit on the hard floor of the main hangar area. The meetings
were similar. Through two independent sources, it had been discovered that
the wormholes the "Lexington" had seen months before could pose a
danger. No ships could be spared to scout the area to confirm the
theory. The captains of the four JFSA ships would "accidentally" end up in
the area where the wormholes were expected to appear, along with the SFA
"Bon Homme Richard". As JFSA cadets, they could not be commanded to take
part in a dangerous mission. Any cadets not wishing to take part could be
temporarily transferred to the "Hornet" with nothing being placed in their
records. The decision would have to be made by twelve hundred hours.

The reactions on the four ships varied. Between the "Monitor" and
"Gettysburg", many of the pre-teens were asked to transfer. The captains of
each ship believed they would be able to function fully without the six or
seventh graders, so all of the pre-teens were transferred to the "Hornet."
This decision kept any negative feelings from developing towards the boys
who were not ready to go into a potentially dangerous situation.

Not a single cadet on the "Lexington" asked to leave, and Captain Hatcher
never considered requiring the younger cadets to transfer. He knew what the
reaction of the crew would be, and he also knew that one of his strongest
teams was the Birds of Prey, which consisted mostly of pre-teens. Not only
did the "Lexington" not have the numbers to afford to lose a large chunk of
the crew, she didn't have the experience to carry on without them. She had
become a smoothly working machine from the eleven year old sixth graders to
the eighteen year old seniors.

The place were trouble broke out was on the "Orion." Captain Hunter quickly
called a meeting with his XO, as well Rich and Todd, his cadet CO and
XO. He was wondering if he had misgauged his cadets. Maybe the cream of the
cream was ready only for the classroom of the athletic field, but not for
the battlefield.

"I think it's because the Triple Ls are involved," Rich said. "Who wants to
go into a dangerous situation with a ship full of losers?"

"Captain Zimmer," Hunter said in a stern tone, "I will not hear them
referred to by that term again. Last I looked; they were the ones who made
us look bad."

"We beat them in the Olympics..."

"First, that has not been determined. Second, this petty rivalry ends
now. From here on we are on the same side with the same goals. Understood?"

"Yes, sir. Understood. However, no matter how you look at it, a majority of
the crew has decided not to volunteer. And they were told it was a
volunteer mission. They don't want to risk their lives and futures on some
wild idea from the `Lexington'." Rich spat out the word Lexington with
barely disguised contempt. "I would think that pretty much ends this
meeting. When the `Lexington' goes wandering off, we will stay right on our
mission, following our orders."

"Do you agree with the decision of the crew, Captain Zimmer?"

"I do, sir. They are my crew and I stand behind them."

Hunter was about to open his mouth again when Todd interrupted.

"Captain, I request permission to have a few moments alone with Captain
Zimmer."

Hunter let out a sigh. Once again he wanted to draw and quarter the captain
who wrote out Rich's recommendations and performance reviews. Once again he
wanted to strangle Rich. He couldn't wait to have his new CO start on the
first of September; one whom he knew and picked from his own observations
and reviews.

"Permission granted. You have ten minutes." Captain Hunter left his office,
leaving Rich and Todd alone. Rich hated these sessions, because Todd always
seemed to come out on top. This time it would be different. This time he
would be standing up for his crew.

Todd looked directly at Rich. The usual half smirk he carried during their
chats wasn't there. What Rich saw was fire in Todd's eyes and a serious
look of determination on his face.

"Richie, I've known you since before we hit puberty. You were my lover for
years, and I still love you. You could be arrogant, stubborn, and full of
yourself. But you also were open, honest, and vulnerable. You could pour
out your love, and were damned good in bed. One thing you never were was a
coward."

"Excuse me? A coward?"

"Why else are you hiding behind your crew's skirts? Why else aren't you
leading them to make the decision you know they should have made to start
with?"

"It's the right decision. Their feelings about the `Lexington' keep them
from..."

"Fuck the `Lexington', Richie. This isn't about the `Lexington' at
all. This is about spoiled brats wetting their pants at the thought of
danger, and their spoiled brat leader who is more than ready to take the
easy way out."

Rich scowled at Todd but said nothing.

"Richie, do you know what the legacy of this ship is going to be? It's
going to be the ship that was crewed by the cream of the JFSA, but didn't
have the balls to volunteer for a dangerous mission when they were asked,
while a ship crewed by a juvies went right into the heart of danger.  It's
going to be about the ship that put its tail between its legs and ran. It's
going to be about the ship that racked up all those points in the junior
Olympics, and couldn't perform when reality hit."

"We were asked to volunteer. We decided not to follow the lead of a ship of
delinquents and losers. Our legacy will be one of being a bit smarter than
the two ships that did decide to follow them. And besides, who will know?
This whole mission is secret."

"Richie, have you lost all touch with reality? Nothing is secret in this
organization. Hell, I could tell you what the `Lexington' is thinking right
now. I can tell you that once word of the `Orion's' decision gets to them,
and it will get to them, the `Orion' will be a laughingstock."

"E-mail between ships has been cut off. You don't know anything."

"The COs and XOs have e-mail, a fact you seem to have forgetten. I have a
very nice relationship with the current XO of the `Lexington'. We both like
to keep each other abreast of current events. Richie, look at it this
way. An officer is looking for an important promotion. His records get
looked at. His background is impeccable. Good family, great grades,
superior performance reviews. He is the most qualified candidate. But
something stands out. In '77 he was a cadet on the JFSA `Orion'. The ship
that refused to help its fellow ships when it had the chance. The ship that
refused to face danger. The committee looking at the promotion closes his
file and promotes somebody from a ship that had no business ever being a
JFSA academy ship, but when it came time to show who had balls, was at the
front of the pack. A candidate whose background was shit, but who became a
leader in '77, when some JFSA ships were asked to put it on the
line. That's the legacy, Richie. Nothing official in the files, because
this is a volunteer mission. But it's all about perception,
Richie. Perception counts for more than reality sometimes."

Rich let out a snort. "Just as I figured, Todd, it's all about you, isn't
it? You're the one who loses the promotion because you were on this ship
and you don't want your precious reputation tainted. I am so tired of your
selfless act. The reality is that the cadets on this ship are too good to
be passed up just because they happened to be smart enough to not go on a
crazy mission that isn't even officially sanctioned. You're just thinking
of Todd all the way"

"Not a bad observation, Richie, except there is one flaw in your logic."

"And what would that be?"

"If you don't convince your crew to change its mind, I already have a
temporary transfer to the `Lexington' approved. So no matter what, I'm
going. I am volunteering. I researched the findings of that Lady Lex cadet
and his evidence is overwhelming. The SFA is being blinded by their
prejudices. To them no JFSA cadet could come up with a plan of this sort,
and even if he could, it certainly wouldn't be one from the likes of the
`Lexington'."

"The `Lexington'?" Rich laughed loudly. "You're going to that old bucket of
bolts? You said it yourself; no way that ship figures out a plan like
that. I agree with the SFA. Following the `Lexington' is a waste of
time. This isn't about not wanting to face danger, Todd. There is going to
be nothing there. No wormholes, no Kritons, nothing. It's all bullshit. And
besides, what makes you think they'd accept you?"

"Maybe they will. Maybe they won't. But the idea of being on a ship where
the cadets have balls appeals to me, Richie. And you know me. I adapt
pretty easily.

"You have nothing to lose by going on this mission except a few hours of
your precious time," Todd continued. "Richie, you love calling the
`Lexington' cadets the Triple Ls. The Lady Lex Losers. Well, maybe it's
time you figured out who the losers really are. It isn't them; they're
ready to put their asses on the line. The losers are right here on the
`Orion', with you as chief loser. Richie, not every ship was asked to
volunteer. We were, because we already have a reputation, and it's a damned
good one. And now you're willing to kick it all away because of your
prejudices. You will make a great SFA office bound admiral some
day. Totally out of touch with reality. At least Natter has some touch with
reality, even if he can't be open about it.

"Richie, the ship leading the way is crewed by your so-called losers. But
they're winners Richie. The losers will be on this ship because you failed
to lead them when they needed leadership, and you will be a loser right
along with them for not providing that leadership. You've spent an entire
year doing everything you can not to make a wrong decision. And the only
way you can really do that is by making no decisions at all. I've covered
your ass for you, because I loved you once. But no more. This will be your
decision. Do nothing, and it will be you whose record will be looked at,
because it will show you as junior CO of the `Orion' in '77. You have two
weeks left as CO of this crew. You have offered them no leadership at all
for an entire school year. Maybe it's time you showed them you deserved the
job."

"Well, if you're so good at saving my ass, maybe you should give them the
speech."

Todd gave Richie a smile for the first time. "I would just tell them I'm
volunteering with or without them. You can tell them you're volunteering
with them."

Rich sighed. As much as he hated to admit it, Todd was right all too
often. All his life he had lived in Todd's shadow. Todd was the pretty boy,
the popular one, the leader. He was the boy everybody looked up to. Being
his boyfriend was both a matter of pride and a burden. When the chance came
to outshine him, he took advantage of it. He kissed the right asses, did
the right things, and suddenly it was he, instead of Todd, who was the
junior CO of the "Orion". But he couldn't get rid of Todd. Todd came to the
"Orion" as the junior XO, and suddenly it seemed it was always Todd making
the decisions. It was Todd everybody looked up to and followed. And it was
Todd who would hang over his desk with his superior smirk and remind him of
his shortcomings. The hard part was, after listening to Todd, he would
slink back to his cabin realizing Todd was right, and determined to find a
way not to do what he suggested.

Todd had given him the situation in no uncertain terms. The dilemma was
right there in front of him. Follow the decision of the crew, and he loses
what little credibility he has as a leader. He was the one who followed his
crew as they turned their backs on a potentially dangerous mission. Stand
up to the crew, and he would be admitting that Todd was right once
again. For all his envy of Todd and how easily he wore the mantle of
leadership, he still respected him. Rich had out-maneuvered Todd for the CO
position, yet Todd was the actual leader. Todd was right. Even with only
two weeks left in his tenure on the "Orion", it was not too late to show
that he, too, could lead.

***** Colin Harkness, the "Orion's" junior Operations officer sulked in his
cabin. He was one of the few cadets who voted no to the mission after
Rich's impassioned speech. He wanted nothing to do with the Triple Ls, no
matter what Rich said. Rich had made some good points, but he wanted
nothing to do with it. Yet, when he realized Rich's speech had turned the
original vote around, he also knew that he couldn't back out without losing
a tremendous amount of face; something no adolescent wanted to do. He would
go where the "Orion" went. That didn't mean he had to like it.

A few cabins away, David smiled. He had been one of the few cadets to
originally vote yes to the mission. As much as he hated the "Lexington"
there was no way he would let the person he hated most upstage him. If
Douglas was going on that mission, he would be there too. He had been
disappointed his shipmates had voted not to go. He was now elated that they
had changed their minds. He was ready to show Douglas that once again, he
was the better of the two.

Todd smiled to himself in his spacious cabin, one of the perks of being
junior XO. Rich had done the right thing. Maybe he should reward him with a
return to better times. Or maybe not. Who knew what was right with him? He
knew that going on the mission was right. He had been prepared to follow
through on the transfer to the "Lexington". Now he wouldn't have to
that. He would be right here with his own shipmates and friends.

*****

Two boys walked a corridor of their respective ships.  On the "Orion" Mark
knocked on Todd's door. Todd opened it, wearing nothing but a silk
bathrobe.

"I wondered if you'd be coming," Todd said.

"What you said made sense," Mark replied.

"Of course it did," Todd said with a twinkle in his eyes.

Mark sat on the chair by Todd's desk. "Rich gave a great speech. It sounded
like you wrote it. I know he sure couldn't do it."

"Rich is capable of far more than he or anybody else thinks. He showed that
today. That was Rich's speech. I just nudged him in the right direction."

"This could be a dangerous mission, couldn't it?"

"We're just supposed to observe and report. Nothing dangerous in that. The
admiralty would never send JFSA ships into danger, would it?"

"If you say so," Mark said, knowing Todd was skirting the real answer. The
mission WAS dangerous.

Todd and Mark talked more about the turnabout of the crew and the direction
the "Orion" was going.  Finally Todd took off his robe, revealing his
naked, well-developed body. "Time to retire, I think. The couch makes a
bed, or you can lay one out on the floor."

As Mark undressed he looked at Todd. "I don't need to do any sex right?"

"That's right. No sex," Todd said with a smile as he pulled his covers over
him. "You don't have to do any sex." He reached up and turned off the
lights.

*****

On the "Lexington", Ben entered a hangar, looking at the two shuttles
parked side by side. The "Wonder Boy" was done for. She would probably end
up in the graveyard when they got back Earthside. He was the one who had
pushed her over her limits. He patted the shuttle he had grown to love so
much.

Next to him was the "Savoy Special" which was still getting some
refitting. Some items were being transferred from the "Wonder Boy" to the
new shuttle, so the Special was docked in one of the large hangers instead
of on an outer port. In the few trial runs they had had she had proven to
be quick and responsive. Jake Masters had kept her up and had fitted her
for smuggling duties. She had to be able to move rapidly and be able to
escape detection.

Ben heard the hangar door swoosh open. He turned to see Douglas enter the
hangar. Douglas looked at Ben and at the two shuttles.

"I'll miss the old girl," Douglas said.

"Me, too. I loved her. We did a lot together. I will always regret pushing
her as hard as I did. It's my fault.'

Douglas hugged his lover. "The Special is a good ship. We're lucky she was
available. I have feeling you will end up loving her, too."

Ben gave Douglas a kiss. "Not as much as I love you. Never as much as I
love you."

*****

Two days after leaving Hawking's Planet, Scottie looked at the readout on
the navigation computer. It was reading exactly as it should. Normally he
would have been surprised to hear the incoming radio message, but this time
it brought a smile to his face.

"This is the `Bon Homme Richard" calling the `Lexington'. You are moving
off course. Please check your navigation readings."

Because they were in an alert situation, Captain Hatcher was manning the
bridge. "Cadet Brothers, please double check the readings."

"They have us on course, sir."

"Switch over to backup."

"Yes sir."

Scottie switched from the main computer to the backup computer. The
readings remained the same, but the course heading didn't change. They were
moving on a course almost 80 degrees from the one they should have been
following. Scottie knew that the readings he was getting were false
readings. Commander Creevey, Ian, and Jesse were checking out the actual
course readings in the auxiliary bridge and guiding the ship accordingly.

"'Lexington, you are still off course. Please return to the proper course."

"We are unable to comply," Hatcher said. "We seem to have a computer
problem. Request permission to stop for repairs before we separate too
far."

Captain Watson's voice came over the bridge speakers. Captain Watson was in
command of the flotilla which consisted of the seven JFSA ships, the "Bon
Homme Richard", the "Wasp", and the "Hornet."

"Permission granted, Captain. I am going to escort you and leave the
`Monitor', `Orion', and `Gettysburg' behind as escorts as well. The
`Hornet' and `Wasp' can take care of getting the other ships to Earth."

"Thank you, captain"."

"We will be joining you in approximately a half hour."

"Thanks again, captain."

Hatcher closed the connection. For the record, the "Lexington" was having
technical problems. In reality her course was taking her close to Scooter's
theoretical wormhole location. The three JFSA ships had volunteered to stay
behind with her. The "Bon Homme Richard" gave them the SFA escort they
required in time of emergency. Everything was working as planned. The
question now was, what would they find when they arrived at Scooter's
coordinates.

*****


Admiral Gragosh smiled as he looked out of the view port of his office on
his flagship, the "Shakala". The last of the nine invasion ships had just
appeared out of the wormhole. The science ship "Agashi" was starting the
construction of the second wormhole, which would open in Earth's solar
system. He should soon be getting the signal from General Elihu, and the
flotilla when be ready to complete the last leg of its journey.

*****

The Kriton fleet broke out of warp twenty-five thousand kilometers from the
SFA fleet. Admiral Whitaker heard the news with a barely disguised sense of
glee. The dance was about to begin. The battle plan was little more than
choreography. Had those who had stolen the blueprints looked at them
carefully they would have seen them not as the blueprints of a true battle
plan, but as the blueprints of a battle dance.

Sure, ships would be destroyed and damaged, and lives would be lost. It
was, after all, a dance in reality. But when all the weapons had stopped
firing and the Kritons had been pushed back, after obtaining the two
planets that would be their "goal", the Kriton threat would be seen for
what it really was, and his power would be unprecedented. This was, after
all, the first battle of a war, not the entire war itself.

*****

General Elihu checked out the plans on his desk. Admiral Whitaker truly
thought he was doing all of this to gain two planets. How little he knew
about the Kritons. No Kriton commander would suffer such a loss of face for
two planets. No, while Whitaker's fleet was doing its little dance, the
true stars of the production would be dancing around the admiral's precious
Earth, creating destruction never before seen.

The general smiled. Right now Kriton was ruled by the Emperor and the
ruling council. Soon the Emperor would be answerable to him.

*****

"This is weird," Scooter said as he looked at his instruments at his bridge
station.

"What?" Captain Hatcher asked. He was rapidly learning to quickly listen to
Scooter's observations.

"Those nine Kriton ships haven't moved in the last twenty-four hours.  No
movement at all. None."

Captain Hatcher pondered the implications, and one big one came to
mind. Even starships on station moved. The fact that these hadn't moved in
twenty fours hours could mean a lot of things, but the most dangerous to
them was that they were reading nothing more than signal beacons. And if
that was the case, then the Kritons either had the means of cloaking their
starships, or the ships had moved somewhere else in a hurry. Even ships in
warp could be tracked, so the only explanation was that the ships had
entered the wormhole.

 If Scooter's theory was right, they would be seeing more than empty space
at the coordinates, they would be seeing the end of at least one, if not
two, wormholes. To top it off, they would either be seeing a flotilla
between wormholes, be waiting for the ships to exit, or be too late because
the Kriton flotilla would have already taken the second wormhole to
Earth. He was hoping for the second choice, figuring that being in front of
the wormhole as the Kriton ships came out would be like shooting ducks on a
pond.

Hatcher quickly radioed the other captains and gave them Scooter's
observations, as well as his own theories.

"I will have our shuttles manned and ready for immediate launch," Orin
Watson said, wishing now he had committed two ships to this mission and
left one to escort the remaining JFSA ships.

"What about our shuttles?" Hatcher asked. He realized as he asked how much
his attitudes had changed in a brief time. It wasn't that long ago he had
tried keeping his cadets from continuing the war games. Now he was
preparing them for an actual battle.

"I don't want the cadets involved in anything but observation."

"One against nine isn't very good odds," Hatcher said.

"It's the best I can do."

"With all due respect sir, my shuttles will be manned and prepared for
launch," Hatcher said. "We're all that's here, and we'd better make the
best of what we have."

The captains of the "Orion", "Gettysburg", and "Monitor" chimed in that
they were doing the same.

"I knew I should have picked some quiet, unassertive, chicken shit captains
to go with me," Watson said with a chuckle. "I hope your boys know what
they're in for."

"Oh, I doubt that they do," said Captain Winters of the "Gettysburg". "And
that just might be a good thing."

*****

The Kritons were ahead of the SFA in many ways as far as technology and
science went. Their starships were quicker. Their shuttles had cloaking
technology. They had the xanthium bomb and had discovered how to make the
worm holes.  And, their starship weaponry was more powerful.

Yet, they also had areas where they were lacking. While their shuttles
could cloak, they were slower and less maneuverable than the SFA
shuttles. The Kritons depended more on their starships than on shuttles in
a battle situation. The SFA, in some ways looked at their star ships in the
same way the ancient sea navies looked at their capital ships; as aircraft
carriers. They still thought in terms of carrier war, while the Kritons
thought in terms of battleship war. The SFA shuttles had better weapons and
better equipment, plus there were more of them per ship.

Another area where the technology of the SFA excelled was in communications
and observation. Their technology was far beyond that of the Kritons in
these areas. Their detection and observation equipment was far beyond what
the Kritons had. This was in large part because of the cultural differences
between the two races.

The men of Earth had always had a streak of paranoia in them. Spying and
subterfuge had always been a big part of warfare. The Kritons, with their
innate belief in their superiority, never saw the need to have really
sophisticated observation and detection equipment. After all, if nobody
could beat you in battle, who cared if they snuck up on you?

It was because of this that the Earth flotilla was able to zero in on the
Kriton flotilla without being detected themselves.

"Got them," Scottie Brother said. "Almost at the exact spot Scooter
predicted."

"How many ships?" Captain Hatcher asked.

"All nine of them."

One thing the equipment could not detect was the wormholes. But the fact
that the nine ships were maintaining position meant that the second
wormhole had probably not yet been completed. The problem was that they had
no way of knowing how long it would be before it was.

The communications officer of the "Bon Homme Richard" had detected the nine
ships at about the same time. Watson radioed the four JFSA ships.

"They are just about in our backyard. Knowing where they should be helped
us find them very quickly. Congratulations to Cadet Starr for a job well
done."

"Where do we go from here?" Hatcher asked.

"I am going to launch a drone for closer observations. While it can't be
cloaked, it has the best stealth technology available. We need to know what
the situation is now."

"And if the second wormhole is open, what do we do?" Captain Linyu-Wan of
the "Monitor" asked.

"Radio Earth. We will have done our jobs."

"You forget one thing, Orin," Captain Hatcher said.

"What's that."

"We don't have nine viable ships Earth side. Admiral Whitaker moved them
all to his defensive position."

Watson sighed. He'd forgotten what an idiot Whitaker had been, leaving
Earth vulnerable to an invasion by a fleet of butterflies, let alone nine
Kriton ships armed to the teeth.

Captain Linyu-Wan said little, but when he did, people listened. His
observation here was succinct and to the point. "Those ships cannot be
allowed through the wormhole." None of the other four captains disagreed.

*****

"How long before the wormhole opens," Admiral Gragosh asked the captain of
the science ship.

"It will be ready for entry in less than a half hour."

"Very well. Keep me informed."

*****

The starship "Ronald Reagan" blew up in a spectacular circle of fire and
debris. Too bad, Whitaker thought. She was a good ship, but its sacrifice
was a good one. The end result of this battle would be a stronger Earth and
a stronger fleet. One that would not be losing starships in senseless wars
against every two bit alien culture they ran up against.

*****

The images from the drone were on the view screens of all five ships.

"That wormhole looks like it is close to finished," Captain Hunter of the
`Orion" observed.

"If the ships go through, and if Zjan-Ren's warning was right, we're
doomed," Hatcher said.

"Then they don't go through," Captain Watson said.

"Do you get the idea we maybe have bitten off more than we can chew here?"
Hunter asked.

"Whether we have or whether we haven't isn't the point. Like I said before,
we're here and they're there, and we're all that can stop them."

"So it looks like we attack them," Hunter said matter-of-factly.

"Yes it does, Chase. And we had better start coming up with a battle plan
now," Watson said.

The shuttles on all five ships were manned and ready, waiting for orders on
what do to. For the men of the "Bon Homme Richard" this was their job. They
were nervous but ready. For the junior cadets of the five other ships, it
was the war games all over again, with the added rule that when you're
dead, you're really dead.

Suddenly the view screens went blank.

"I think we won't have time for a battle plan ," Linyu-Wan said. "The
Kritons have just discovered our presence."

*****

Captain Watson immediately went into action. The shuttles of all five ships
had already been manned and readied for launch. Watson, however, made it
absolutely clear that the JFSA shuttles would be on standby. All initial
shuttle launchings would be from the "Bon Homme Richard". He had the five
ships placed into a wedge formation, which essentially placed the "Bon
Homme Richard" in position to protect the trailing ships, as long as the
attack on them was a frontal attack. Should the angle of attack change, the
wedge would adjust or split to meet it.

The wedge was a defensive position which Watson intended to maintain until
he could get his shuttles launched so they would have a reasonable chance
of making the wormhole. If they couldn't stop the science ship on this side
of the wormhole, they would need to be able to get through it to stop it on
the other side. Watson also had reservations about exposing the JFSA ship
to risk, forgetting that this was war, and risk was part of war.

"I plan to launch the shuttles just outside of weapons range," Watson
informed the other captains. "They will need coverage from all of our
ships."

Every report they had received on the Kritons said that their weaponry
wasn't up to par with the SFA. Speed was the big advantage their smaller
starships had. Well, Watson thought, it was time to make use of our
superior weapons. He could make out five Kriton ships heading their way on
the attack. They were spread out, with the obvious intention of splitting
their wedge by attacking it from five different directions. The three
remaining Kriton star ships plus the science ship were well out of weapons
range, but the incoming ships were closing the gap quickly.

Ben and Douglas and the crew of the "Savoy Special" sat nervously in their
shuttle. Unlike the other shuttles, which were attached to their ports
outside the ship, the "Savoy Special" was still in the hangar. The hangar
door was open, giving them a restricted view out into the blackness of
space. They all wished they were on the outside, able to hear more. They
followed the ship to ship communication on their own radio.

"I'm scared," Scottie admitted. "This is way different than the war games."

"Tell me about it," Ben said. "We're all scared. I just wish we could see."

"Do you think we will be launched?" Nipper asked.

"I don't know. We will wait like everybody else." Douglas said.

The bridges of all the JFSA starships were manned by regular crew. The
cadets who were battle trained were in their shuttles. The four JFSA ships
knew the importance of stopping the science ship. They were young, primed,
eager for action, but also incredibly frightened.

Watson made some adjustments to the formation. "We will be in weapons range
in five minutes," his navigator announced. Watson had the weapons ready to
fire. He planned on firing a pattern before entering weapons range to keep
the Kriton ships off guard. While Watson didn't intend that the four JFSA
ships launch their shuttles, he did intend to have them use their weapons,
especially the "Lexington", which, even in her old age, had the most
powerful weaponry of the five ships.

"Four minutes forty-five seconds," the navigator intoned.

Hatcher heard the countdown over the bridge speakers. He looked once again
at the report on Kriton weaponry. He wondered if Zjan-Ren would be able to
shed any light on the accuracy of those reports. It was too late to find
out now. "Kriton starship weapons lack the power and range of SFA ships,
even our smaller ones," read one of the summary sections of the report.

"Do you want shields up?" Watson's XO asked?

"No. We will take evasive maneuvers right after we fire our fist volley,"
Watson said. Starships had the capability of putting up partial shields,
but they were incredibly energy intensive and could drain a ship's power
quickly. Plus, a ship's weapons recharged more slowly when the shields were
raised and it couldn't launch its shuttles.  The shields were a last resort
in a battle, or a device to be used when a ship worked to gain a better
strategic position. Shuttles had minimal shields because they were unable
to generate the energy to create them for long. His quickly formed battle
plan called for him to fire a volley just outside of weapons range and then
for the JFSA ships to fire a volley as soon as they were within weapons
range. The academy ships would then use evasive maneuvers, coupled with
raising and lowering shields, to cover the "Bon Homme Richard" as she
launched her shuttles. Once the shuttles were launched, their own
maneuverability and quickness would be their primary protection. He could
launch them sooner, but he didn't want to show is hand too quickly.

"Four minutes to weapons range," the "Bon Homme Richard" navigator intoned.

David and Mark looked out of the view screen of the "Ramses" which was
attached to the "Orion."  Somehow they thought they would see Kriton ships
appear in front of their eyes. They knew the ships were too far away to
see, but that knowledge didn't stop them from believing they could somehow
make visual contact. David thought of how strange it was that he and
Douglas were going to battle together; that perhaps for the first time ever
they were on the same side. Mark thought of his brother Jesse, off in the
distance on a shuttle of his own. He thought of his debt to Jesse, and
wondered if the chance would ever come to repay it. Even his night with
Todd popped into his head. He shook it, trying to chase out the stray
thought of a very interesting, if strange night.

"Three minutes thirty seconds."

Trevor glanced around the "Raptor."  The Birds of Prey were in their
makeup, wearing only their long black shirts and their shoes. Spencer, Ian,
Brian; all of them were his friends. There was no doubt they were ready to
kick some Kriton ass. But even he could feel his nerves on edge, the sense
of fear creeping through the shuttle. We need to get launched; we need to
fight, he thought. That's what the Birds of Prey are about. We're not about
sitting in a shuttle attached to a star ship wondering when we're going to
be shot at. We're about being the ones doing the shooting. His young mind
sensed accurately that it was the waiting, the unknown that was building
the fear. They were used to being in control, and now they weren't. Come
on, he thought. Let's get some action.

"Three minutes...Sir! Look at this."

Watson checked the view screen. A large flash of light had come from the
direction of the five Kriton ships on the offensive.

"What was that?" Watson asked. "We're nowhere within their weapons range."

The bridge crew and captains of the four other ships had seen the same
bright flash. While it could be picked up in the powerful view screens on
the instrument consoles, the crews of the shuttles could see nothing.

Hatcher looked out at the "Bon Homme Richard" which was running ahead of
him. After the flash there was nothing more. He wondered if one of the
Kriton ships had had an accident. Suddenly the front view screen lit up
filling the bridge with blazing light, then it became filled with a ball of
flame. The "Lexington" passed the fire, and everyone on the bridge could
see that the place where the "Bon Homme Richard" had been just a few
moments ago was now nothing but empty space and flying debris.

The command from the four captains on the bridges of the JFSA ships was
almost simultaneous.  "Shields up! NOW!"

The "Bon Homme Richard" was gone. All that was standing between the Kritons
and earth were four ships manned by school children.

To be continued...