They say that every thing that does not kill you makes you stronger.\u00a0 If that is true, than I must be Hercules by now, considering all the things that have failed to kill me.\u00a0 The Shang tried real hard, but I got away.\u00a0 A lot of other people didn\u2019t, many of them far better people than me.\u00a0 I try to remember them all, but there are so many.\u00a0 So I toast to absent friends and go on with life.\u00a0 It\u2019s the ultimate way to cheat death.\u00a0 Live.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Hyperspace swirled around Jack\u2019s Avenger, rainbow currents of gravity bringing every color under the stars to his eyes in one crazy kaleidoscope of chaos.\u00a0 The fighter\u2019s gravity generator held the chaos at bay, forcing a bubble of calm around them.\u00a0 But outside that sphere of serenity, hyperspace pooled and eddied, flowing around dozens of surviving fighters.\u00a0 Frigates and destroyers created larger pools of calm, though more than one hung dead in space, the currents of hyperspace already beginning to pull them away from the rest of the task force.\u00a0 They were going to have to get their gravitics back up if they planned to move under power.\u00a0 Of the nine cruisers that left the wall of battle, only Los Angeles<\/em> remained, proudly proclaiming her lordship over hyperspace with a vast calm sphere around her.<\/p>\n The British destroyer Eclipse<\/em> appeared before him, flowing down a rainbow stream.\u00a0 She was heavily wounded, her starboard broadside ravaged by the final Shang missiles.\u00a0 Jack could see through her armor, and air continued to leak out of the deep wounds reaching into her central spine.\u00a0 But she lived, and a half-dozen sturdy Harriers maneuvered around her in a defensive formation, obviously intending to keep her that way.<\/p>\n Gabrielle flickered back into his cockpit and let out a long sigh of relief.\u00a0 \u201cWe made it,\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n \u201cI never doubted it,\u201d Jack returned with all the sincerity he could muster.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s sweet of you,\u201d Gabrielle said, shaking her head the whole time.\u00a0 \u201cBut you know how dicey that was.\u00a0 Thank you,\u201d she finished, holding his gaze until he nodded in acceptance.\u00a0 \u201cGood.\u00a0 Now, we need to form up so we can get out of here.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack glanced at the displays showing the names of the disabled ships.\u00a0 \u201cWhat about Harrington<\/em>, Clark<\/em>, and Vargas<\/em>?\u201d he asked, waving a hand towards the destroyer and frigates.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s where I come in,\u201d Gabrielle answered with a smile.\u00a0 In time with her smile, Los Angeles<\/em> moved out of her gravitic stream, gravity generator expanding her control over hyperspace.\u00a0 She swooped down on Harrington<\/em>, engulfing the smaller destroyer with her field, and then tractor beams lanced out to lock her into place.\u00a0 The cruiser\u2019s engines burned blue, and she pulled the destroyer over to first one frigate, and then the other.\u00a0 In less than a minute, Clark<\/em> and Vargas<\/em> hung off Los Angeles\u2019<\/em> flank, anchored in place by more tractor beams.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you sure you can handle that much dead weight?\u201d Jack asked.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, don\u2019t be silly,\u201d Gabrielle returned.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019re not dead.\u00a0 Their engines can help me out, and I can hold the field around them for as long as I need to.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf you say so,\u201d Jack noted in a doubtful tone.<\/p>\n \u201cI do<\/em> say so,\u201d Gabrielle said, her voice hard and determined.\u00a0 The edge of desperation tinged it, and Jack winced.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Ma\u2019am,\u201d Jack answered very quickly, not wanting to worry the warship any further.<\/p>\n \u201cBetter,\u201d she growled, then looked up to examine the entire surviving task force.\u00a0 \u201cAll ships, form on Los Angeles<\/em>, <\/em>match course and speed, and follow me,\u201d she said in her command voice.<\/p>\n The fusion engines of Los Angeles<\/em>, Harrington<\/em>, Clark<\/em> and Vargas<\/em> came to life at once, filling hyperspace with their blue flames.\u00a0 Their gravitic bow wave crashed through the hyperspatial currents, creating a wake that expanded behind her.\u00a0 The rest of the surviving fleet, starships and fighters alike, moved into the slipstream the cruiser created, and Jack felt them diving deeper into hyperspace, leaving Epsilon Reticuli and normalspace behind them.<\/p>\n Jack scanned the displays, studying them to see what had survived the final charge into the Shang force.\u00a0 Three British starships, with perhaps twenty Harriers swarming around them, brought up the task force\u2019s rear.\u00a0 The destroyers Eclipse<\/em> and Assault<\/em> were the only true warships remaining of their squadron.\u00a0 Recovery<\/em> was a medical frigate, only mounting a point defense network because the Shang had long since proven that the Red Cross meant nothing to them.\u00a0 Jack frowned at the three ships.\u00a0 There was something not right there, but he couldn\u2019t put his finger on it.<\/p>\n He shook his head, and scanned over to look at the American ships.\u00a0 The destroyers Adams<\/em>, Hernandez<\/em>, and Garcia<\/em> held position just behind Los Angeles<\/em>, their gravitic wedges merging with the cruiser\u2019s wake to strengthen it.\u00a0 Hammond<\/em>, Vega<\/em>, Perez<\/em>, and Mendoza<\/em> held position between the destroyers and the British, their smaller gravity generators unable to significantly impact the wake around them.\u00a0 But those frigates were optimized for point defense against both missiles and fighters, making them a very important part of the task force.\u00a0 Jack frowned.\u00a0 This wasn\u2019t a task force any more.\u00a0 At most, it was a reinforced squadron, and he wasn\u2019t certain he\u2019d be even that optimistic if he were the station commander seeing them show up.<\/p>\n At least some fighters had managed to get out with them.\u00a0 Before The War, that would have been impossible he knew.\u00a0 His thirty-two surviving Avengers were the first hypercapable fighter ever designed.\u00a0 But the Peloran had gone all-in when it came to helping the Western Alliance upgrade their existing technologies in the last two years.\u00a0 Third Fleet had benefited the most from those upgrades, and every single one of their fighters were hypercapable now.\u00a0 Around forty Hellcats and ten Mexican Azcarates held position around the starships.\u00a0 Five times that number of fighters had started the battle.\u00a0 It was a horrendous loss ratio, though a quick glance at the displays showed that two-thirds of the pilots still lived.\u00a0 He\u2019d lost Snake too, but his other pilots began to report in via the displays and he nodded slowly in approval.\u00a0 They\u2019d lost far more Avengers than he wanted, but they\u2019d managed to get Los Angeles<\/em> out.\u00a0 Jack was impressed.\u00a0 She took a lot of killing to make it stick.<\/p>\n Gabrielle smiled as if following his train of thought.\u00a0 \u201cJack, I\u2019m giving you a landing beam to Los Angeles<\/em>.\u00a0 Please follow it.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack raised an eyebrow.<\/p>\n \u201cCaptain Wyatt has ordered a full briefing and she wants the fighter commanders to report in person.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t even know where to land!\u00a0 Avengers won\u2019t fit in your bays.\u201d<\/p>\n Gabrielle laughed.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re right.\u00a0 Multiple Avengers won\u2019t, but I can squeeze one of you in.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack cleared his throat.\u00a0 \u201cI have five piloted Avengers here, and another twenty-seven cybernetic Avengers that are going to need a place to refuel and rearm.\u00a0 We can\u2019t hoof it all the way to Serenity on our own power.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know,\u201d Gabrielle growled.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re going to have to do some tricky maneuvers to keep all the fighters working.\u00a0 Now will you please come to the briefing?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Ma\u2019am,\u201d Jack returned, feeling a bit harassed.\u00a0 Gabrielle looked triumphant and Jack turned to Betty who just smiled at him.\u00a0 \u201cBetty?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOn it, Jack,\u201d Betty answered, interlaced her fingers, and cracked her virtual knuckles.\u00a0 Then she wiggled her fingers, bringing thrusters to life and moving their fighter towards Los Angeles<\/em>.\u00a0 It was smooth sailing in the cruiser\u2019s wake, the normal chaos of hyperspace suppressed by the generators of the squadron carving their way towards the large gravitic wave linking the massive Epsilon Reticuli system to the much smaller Serenity.<\/p>\n Betty slowed their fighter as they came up behind Los Angeles<\/em>, and then moved them towards the hangar bay on the end of her hull.\u00a0 It was truly small, only designed to support six Hellcats, and Jack winced as the size of the hangar bay registered.\u00a0 It truly was far too small for his comfort.\u00a0 Betty slowed to a crawl and poked her long nose through the energy field holding the atmosphere in.\u00a0 It distorted around the Avenger, and he saw it ripple as his cockpit moved inside.\u00a0 The rest of the Avenger followed, making the single Hellcat in the bay look truly miniscule by comparison.<\/p>\n Jack let out a long breath.\u00a0 The Hellcats had been in service for decades, designed and optimized for naval duty.\u00a0 Avengers on the other hand were maybe three years old, proof-of-concept craft designed to show that America could build a hyperspace-capable fighter.\u00a0 The gravitic cannons and lasers had been an afterthought, added because the military demanded weapons on even a prototype.\u00a0 The powerful generators and capacitors designed to rip through the barrier separating normalspace from hyperspace could power multiple gravitic cannons and laser arrays without breaking a sweat.<\/p>\n No one had expected them to deploy on anything other than the testing ranges.\u00a0 They\u2019d never been meant for deployment at all, but Jack had somehow been lucky enough to be in the first squadron designated to test them.\u00a0 Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 112, the Cowboys.\u00a0 They\u2019d helped kill multiple Shang cruisers at the Battle of Fort Wichita, and garnered the attention of the Peloran admiral in charge of defending Earth.<\/p>\n Admiral Aneerin had requested they be reassigned to his battleship to supplement his fighters, and Jack had been under the Peloran\u2019s command ever since.\u00a0 He\u2019d landed on carriers, battleships, dreadnoughts, battlecruisers, and even a German heavy cruiser almost as large as a battlecruiser, all ships with large enough hangar bays to support his massive fighter.\u00a0 Los Angeles\u2019<\/em> tiny hangar bay, designed to support a mere half-squadron of Hellcats, was by far the smallest bay he\u2019d every tried to land in.<\/p>\n Not that he was actually doing anything.\u00a0 It was Betty\u2019s job to squeeze herself into the bay, and Jack held his breath.\u00a0 The massive wings slid inside the bay, with less than a meter a clearance.\u00a0 The fighter came to a stop, the nose just short of the forward blast shield, and it came down for a landing, filling nearly the entire bay from front to rear.\u00a0 Jack looked down, and in a testament to how large the Avenger was, the single Hellcat fit like a glove next to the nose of his fighter.<\/p>\n \u201cThere,\u201d Betty said with a smile.\u00a0 \u201cFits like a glove,\u201d and Jack wondered if she\u2019d guessed his line of thought well enough to repeat it on purpose.\u00a0 Probably.<\/p>\n \u201cYup,\u201d Jack returned, looking at the tight confines of the hangar around them.\u00a0 \u201cJust be careful about flexing yourself.\u00a0 I wouldn\u2019t want you breaking something.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, it\u2019s sweet of you to worry about me,\u201d Betty said, a twinkle in her eyes.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not,\u201d Jack returned with a teasing grin.\u00a0 \u201cThe ship on the other hand\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI heard that,\u201d Gabrielle growled. \u00a0\u201cTrust me.\u00a0 I can handle anything your puny fighter can dish out.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd the trash talking begins,\u201d Jack said with a chuckle, motioning for the cockpit to open.\u00a0 It began to lift away, and he tapped the buckle of his five-point harness.\u00a0 The harness retracted into its housing, leaving him free to stand up and vault out of the fighter.\u00a0 Betty\u2019s gravity generator snatched him and dropped him safely to the deck where he landed with a spry step, head turning to scan the landing bay.<\/p>\n His eyes stopped on a square-jawed, blond, young man in a black leather flight jacket walking towards him.\u00a0 The man wore a pair of aviator sunglasses dark enough to keep Jack from reading the age in his eyes.\u00a0 The raven-haired cyber standing next to him wore the same outfit, right down to the shades and the navy blue scarf hanging from their necks.\u00a0 The names Hunter Roberts and Mercedes appeared on his contacts, and Jack nodded in approval.\u00a0 The names fit the looks.<\/p>\n \u201cDamn,\u201d Roberts said, looking way up at the Avenger as he walked towards them.\u00a0 \u201cThat is a big bird.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe is beautiful,\u201d Jack answered, projecting just a hint of challenge to the man.<\/p>\n Roberts shook his head in acknowledgement of the jibe.\u00a0 \u201cSo, I gotta ask.\u00a0 Why?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause she\u2019s the best fraking fighter ever made,\u201d Jack answered, waggling his eyebrows at the man\u2019s Hellcat.<\/p>\n Roberts snorted.\u00a0 \u201cHah,\u201d he said and waved towards his smaller fighter.\u00a0 \u201cShe can do everything your old hulk can and takes less space doing it,\u201d he added, nodding towards the cyber standing next to him.<\/p>\n \u201cOld?\u201d Betty growled next to Jack and he raised a hand to touch her shoulder.\u00a0 He felt the slight shift in the air where her holoform stood almost more as an energy field than as anything solid.\u00a0 The holofield gathered air molecules into a tighter density before color shifting them to the point that they looked like a real person standing there.\u00a0 But that was still very little compared to normal air, and Jack stopped when he felt the barest edge of her holoform.\u00a0 It wouldn\u2019t be nice to wave his hand around inside her.\u00a0 She got the message though, and her jaw snapped shut.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, now,\u201d Jack answered Roberts with a smile.\u00a0 The Hellcat might be able to dive into hyperspace, but it certainly couldn\u2019t do everything an Avenger could.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ve got way<\/em> more firepower than you do.\u201d<\/p>\n Roberts chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cYou can barely squeeze one Avenger into a hangar designed to support six Hellcats.\u00a0 I think six Hellcats can outmatch you.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack cleared his throat and shrugged.\u00a0 He looked at Betty, who was glaring back and forth between the other pilot and his cyber.\u00a0 \u201cWell, you\u2019d definitely outgun me,\u201d Jack said, trying to stave off an argument.\u00a0 He looked back and forth between the two fighters and shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cBut I\u2019ll take quality over quantity any day of the week,\u201d he added with a wink.\u00a0 Roberts opened his mouth to call him on it and Jack chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cWanna shoot it out and see?\u00a0 Simulated of course,\u201d he finished with another wink.<\/p>\n Roberts chuckled again and took Jack\u2019s outstretched hand.\u00a0 \u201cChallenge accepted.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh good,\u201d Gabrielle said as her holoform appeared next to them.\u00a0 \u201cAre you done spraying testosterone all over my deck?\u00a0 If so, can we come to the bridge now?\u00a0 The captain\u2019s waiting on you,\u201d she finished with a pointed look at Jack.<\/p>\n Jack looked over to Roberts with an amused look, and the man just smiled back at him.\u00a0 It was almost like the man was daring him to be smart with her, while at the same time declaring his utter refusal to do the same.\u00a0 Well.\u00a0 Los Angeles was<\/em> his home, so Jack supposed it made sense for the man to take the stance he did.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, never let it be said I kept a lady waiting,\u201d Jack said with a smile and turned to Gabrielle, gesturing towards her to lead the way.<\/p>\n Gabrielle rolled her eyes and turned to lead him out of the hangar bay.\u00a0 Jack followed her out through the hatch that opened before her, Betty, Roberts, and Mercedes on his heals.\u00a0 The room on the other side was small enough to feel cramped when the hatch closed behind them.\u00a0 Then the floor beneath them began to vibrate and the lift took them away from the hangar bay like a shot.<\/p>\n The two or three hundred meter trip to the main bridge in the heart of the warships took only a few seconds, and the lift came to a stop, hatch opening onto the bridge.\u00a0 They filed out and Jack looked around, the contacts swimming with names and positions for each of the men and women on the bridge.\u00a0 He stopped when his eyes lit on the captain and smiled at her.\u00a0 The brunette looked strong, and grey eyes betrayed a determination to match the rest of her.\u00a0 She stared at him for several seconds, obviously taking his measure.<\/p>\n \u201cMajor Hart,\u201d Captain Wyatt said, giving him the courtesy promotion required when any captain other than The Captain was onboard a ship.<\/p>\n \u201cCaptain Wyatt,\u201d Jack agreed with a smile.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re Ageless,\u201d Wyatt declared.<\/p>\n \u201cGuilty as charged,\u201d Jack answered, wondering what had betrayed him.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve never met one of your kind before,\u201d she continued, her mouth sketching a doubtful thought.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not surprised,\u201d Jack said with an easy smile.\u00a0 People didn\u2019t always like being around someone as physically superior as the Ageless, and he\u2019d learned long ago to downplay the advantages his genetics gave him.\u00a0 Except of course for times like when the car ran over that girl back home.\u00a0 The people of International Falls had quietly accepted the fact that he\u2019d lifted it off her, filed it away, and continued to treat him as they always had.\u00a0 Of course, he\u2019d been a bit of a rogue, so that wasn\u2019t always good.\u00a0 Fathers of attractive young ladies had been more than happy to continue racking shotguns in his general direction, but they\u2019d never actually shot him.\u00a0 Winged him maybe, but even Jack couldn\u2019t blame them.\u00a0 He would have shot him too back then.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s not many of us,\u201d Jack continued, looking Captain Wyatt in the very grey eyes.\u00a0 Not many was saying it mildly.\u00a0 There were maybe five thousand Ageless in all the United States of America.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve heard that Ageless grow up lazy,\u201d Wyatt challenged.\u00a0 \u201cNever take things seriously because it all comes so easy to you.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack pursed his lips, wondering if she was truly distrustful of Ageless or just testing him.\u00a0 He chose to assume a mix of the two, and stepped into the verbal minefield with care.\u00a0 \u201cWe don\u2019t grow up Ageless,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s sorta something that slides up on us without warning after we grow up.\u201d<\/p>\n She nodded very slowly.\u00a0 \u201cBut did<\/em> you grow up?\u201d<\/p>\n Jack cleared his throat and glanced at Betty.\u00a0 She just smiled as if thinking it was a very good question.\u00a0 Well.\u00a0 There wouldn\u2019t be any help from that peanuts gallery.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhy do you want to know?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n Wyatt\u2019s expressive face frowned at him.\u00a0 \u201cBecause I want to know if I can trust you.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack felt Betty bristle beside him this time and he lowered an open hand to hush her.\u00a0 He kept his eyes on Captain Wyatt though and forced his voice to sound as sincere as possible.\u00a0 \u201cYou can trust me to the ends of the worlds.\u201d<\/p>\n Wyatt sighed.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s easy to say.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAneerin trusts me,\u201d Jack said, and instantly hid a wince.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t one of the best arguments he\u2019d ever given for why someone should trust him.<\/p>\n Wyatt cocked her head to the side, the questions on her face even more evident.\u00a0 The questions, and the doubt.\u00a0 \u201cBut can we<\/em> trust him<\/em>?\u201d\u00a0 And that was why it wasn\u2019t the best argument.<\/p>\n \u201cPermission to speak frankly, Ma\u2019am?\u201d Jack asked.<\/p>\n Wyatt smiled and spread both arms out wide.\u00a0 \u201cI would expect nothing less.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m here because Admiral Aneerin smelled a trap.\u201d\u00a0 Jack shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cWell, we found<\/em> a trap, and one he never saw coming.\u00a0 I lost a Cowboy getting you out.\u00a0 I lost half of my fighters.\u00a0 The last time we took casualties like that, his Peloran Battle Squadron got ripped apart beside us.\u00a0 And I think this trap was meant to finish him.\u00a0 We both know how he fights.\u201d\u00a0 He waited for her to nod again before going on.\u00a0 \u201cThat jammer was designed to neutralize his tactics.\u00a0 I think it would have succeeded.\u00a0 And I think you only got out because Aneerin sent us to help you.\u00a0 Because he trusted my<\/em> people to help you<\/em> out of a situation he told your entire fleet to avoid.\u201d<\/p>\n Wyatt met his gaze for several seconds.\u00a0 \u201cI see,\u201d she finally replied.\u00a0 \u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack beamed a happy smile at her.\u00a0 \u201cMy pleasure, Ma\u2019am,\u201d he said, tipping his hat towards her.<\/p>\n Wyatt sighed and shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cWould you care to join me in the briefing room?\u201d she asked, the question not disguising the iron-bound order in the voice at all.<\/p>\n \u201cAt your leisure, Ma\u2019am,\u201d Jack answered, glancing to the side to see what the cybers thought.\u00a0 Betty gave him a proud smile, while Mercedes and Gabrielle had more measuring looks in their eyes.\u00a0 They hadn\u2019t yet come to a verdict on him.\u00a0 Well.\u00a0 That was fair.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t come to a verdict on them either.<\/p>\n They entered the briefing room to see around twenty people waiting for them.\u00a0 Holoforms all, they represented the captains of the surviving warships, and commanders of fighter squadrons still in action.\u00a0 For the survivors of an entire American task force, they were a motley lot.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you for making this briefing,\u201d Captain Wyatt said to the others and a shaky ripple of laughter moved through the room.\u00a0 \u201cWe will remember those who didn\u2019t when we have time,\u201d she added with a firm nod, and the others returned her gesture.\u00a0 \u201cNow, I need to know if you are ready to make way for Serenity immediately.\u00a0 Not the readiness reports, but your actual on-the-bridge feelings.\u00a0 Are your ships and crews ready for the trip?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy crew\u2019s ready for anything<\/em> that gets us away from this system,\u201d Hammond\u2019s<\/em> captain said, and another ripple of nervous laughter filled the room.\u00a0 \u201cI almost had a mutiny on my hands after giving the order to hold formation on you in fact,\u201d he added, far less humorously.\u00a0 The laughter ended, and Wyatt nodded very carefully.<\/p>\n \u201cDoes that go for the rest of you?\u201d she asked and Jack leaned back against the wall to listen to the ship captains give their reports. \u00a0None of them were good.\u00a0 The task force had lost two-thirds of her ships in a few short minutes, and nearly all of their cruisers.\u00a0 The various destroyer and frigate commanders knew they would have been dead if the Shang weren\u2019t gunning for the more powerful ships, and that had them frightened.\u00a0 But, they were holding on.\u00a0 That had to count for something.<\/p>\n \u201cVery well,\u201d Captain Wyatt finally said in her command voice.\u00a0 \u201cSet your courses for Serenity and prepare to leave within ten minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHang on,\u201d the captain of Eclipse<\/em> protested, and all eyes in the room turned to the man.\u00a0 Jack frowned, something about the man rubbing him wrong.\u00a0 \u201cWe need to determine the commander of this task force,\u201d the man continued in a clipped tone, and Jack saw several raised eyebrows.\u00a0 \u201cI suggest-\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI suggest that no suggestions are needed,\u201d Captain Wyatt cut him off.\u00a0 Silence reigned in the briefing room until she opened her lips again.\u00a0 \u201cI am the senior commanding officer,\u201d she finished in a tone that brooked no argument.<\/p>\n The man\u2019s eyes blazed.\u00a0 \u201cWith all due respect,\u201d he bit out.<\/p>\n \u201cIs that what you are giving me?\u201d Wyatt asked.\u00a0 \u201cRespect?\u201d\u00a0 The unvoiced part of that question cut through the briefing room like a chainsaw.<\/p>\n Eclipse\u2019<\/em> captain saw the danger and shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cCaptain,\u201d he began again, this time far more careful of his tone.\u00a0 \u201cAdmiral Bainsworth is on Recovery<\/em> at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n That captured every eye again.\u00a0 \u201cExcuse me?\u201d Wyatt asked.\u00a0 \u201cDid you just say that Admiral Bainsworth, commander of the entire British task force of Third Fleet, is here, right now, without the rest of his force?\u201d\u00a0 The question hung in the air like the sword of Damocles, and Jack knew the question going through every mind in the briefing room.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy was the admiral not with his command?\u201d<\/p>\n Eclipse\u2019 captain swallowed at the unvoiced question.\u00a0 \u201cHe was injured when Valiant<\/em> took fire,\u201d the captain explained hastily.\u00a0 \u201cIt was deemed necessary to evacuate him and his staff immediately, and this force was the first exit route available.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHang on,\u201d Jack said, unconsciously echoing the Brit as he smelled a rat somewhere and tried to track it down.\u00a0 \u201cYour people thought this task force was a\u2026safe<\/em> escape route for an injured admiral?\u201d<\/p>\n He could have heard a pin drop in the silence filling the briefing room, and the sound of the British captain\u2019s swallowing came far too clearly.\u00a0 \u201cIt was the\u2026first<\/em> escape route\u2026available\u2026\u201d the man said, licking his lips nervously.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd they didn\u2019t think any more<\/em> would be available?\u201d Jack pressed, a sick feeling growing in the pit of his stomach.<\/p>\n The other captain cleared his throat awkwardly.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2026am not privy to fleet command-level decisions,\u201d he finally said, his protest sounding hollow to every ear.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat in Hell<\/em> did we leave Third Fleet facing, Captain?\u201d Jack spat out, anger flashing through him.<\/p>\n \u201cMajor Hart,\u201d Captain Wyatt said in a hard voice.\u00a0 He throttled his anger, turned back to her, and saw the unbending will behind those eyes.\u00a0 \u201cI will ask the questions.\u00a0 Understood?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Ma\u2019am,\u201d Jack answered, his teeth gritted in protest.\u00a0 But he didn\u2019t delay, and he didn\u2019t quite protest in a way she had to take notice of.<\/p>\n \u201cGood,\u201d she returned, nodding at the swiftness of his response, if not his joyful obedience.\u00a0 \u201cNow,\u201d she began, turning back to the British captain, \u201cCaptain Alexander.\u201d\u00a0 The British captain\u2019s eyes flicked to hers as quickly as Jack had responded to her iron tone.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNothing,\u201d Alexander returned with a shake of his head.\u00a0 \u201cI was ordered to escort the admiral and his staff out.\u00a0 I was not told why.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDid you have any suspicions?\u201d<\/p>\n The British captain let out a long, unwilling breath.\u00a0 \u201cThey seemed\u2026uncertain of the safety of Third Fleet.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI see,\u201d Wyatt said, her voice even harder.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to go back,\u201d Jack blurted out, almost without realizing it.\u00a0 Enterprise<\/em> needed him.\u00a0 The response was so instinctive, he didn\u2019t think twice.\u00a0 His eyes scanned the other people in the room and saw the same response in the other fighter pilots.\u00a0 They\u2019d all left people behind, and every last one of them was willing to jump right back in without even thinking.\u00a0 He could have kissed them.\u00a0 Even the guys.<\/p>\n But the ship captains stared at him, and he saw the horror in their eyes.\u00a0 They\u2019d gotten their people out, against all odds.\u00a0 They\u2019d just escaped overwhelming firepower by the skins of their collective teeth.\u00a0 And he could see in their eyes the outrage, and the fear under it, at the jumped up fighter pilot saying they had to charge back into that Hell.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t certain if any if them would follow an order to charge back into that at the moment.\u00a0 Jack could have kicked himself.<\/p>\n \u201cMajor.\u00a0 Hart.\u201d\u00a0 Captain Wyatt uttered the words separately, emphasizing both the rank and the name with an Ice Age\u2019s worth of cold, and Jack met her eyes again.\u00a0 There was no fear in them at all.\u00a0 There wasn\u2019t even anger.\u00a0 That surprised him.\u00a0 She sounded angry.\u00a0 Very angry in fact.\u00a0 But that anger didn\u2019t reach her eyes.\u00a0 What did was determination to use every opportunity she had.\u00a0 And she saw an opportunity in his slip.\u00a0 \u201cDid I stutter, and somehow suggest that I was anything other than in command?\u201d she said, her voice still arctic-cold.\u00a0 But the eyes added something else.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t read it, but knew in his bones she had a plan.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, Ma\u2019am,\u201d he returned, once again without pause, and watched the ship captains relaxing in the corner of his eyes.\u00a0 The fighter pilots bristled though.\u00a0 They were all made of different cloth than the ship captains.\u00a0 Pilots always were.\u00a0 Once again, Jack could have kissed them.<\/p>\n \u201cGood,\u201d Wyatt said with a curt nod towards him.\u00a0 Then she turned back to the captains.\u00a0 \u201cWe leave for Serenity, now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a joint task force of the Western Alliance,\u201d Alexander protested.\u00a0 \u201cCommand authority clearly falls to the senior military commander.\u00a0 Admiral Bainsworth—\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIs not here,\u201d Wyatt interrupted, giving the man a knowing look.\u00a0 \u201cI suppose you would argue that as long as this continues, command should devolve to one of his captains?\u201d<\/p>\n The sound of Alexander\u2019s jaw snapping shut came like a thunderclap in the silence that followed her charge.\u00a0 She smiled as he tried to come up with an answer, and then shook her head.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is an American<\/em> task force, operating under American<\/em> orders.\u00a0 I am the senior American<\/em> commander, and I will maintain command<\/em>.\u00a0 You may convoy<\/em> with us if you wish, but we have a mission<\/em> to perform, Captain Alexander.\u201d\u00a0 Wyatt cocked her head to the side and raised an eyebrow.\u00a0 \u201cAm I clear<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n The British captain nodded jerkily.<\/p>\n \u201cGood,\u201d Wyatt said, her voice hard as stone, and turned to Gabrielle.\u00a0 \u201cSet course for the Epsilon Reticuli-Serenity Run and initiate at your discretion.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Ma\u2019am,\u201d Gabrielle answered and went to work.<\/p>\n Jack scanned the other captains, seeing approval in the American faces and resignation in the three British officers.\u00a0 The fighter pilots looked annoyed, as if they\u2019d just missed out on another good fight, but they nodded towards Jack, and then to Wyatt.\u00a0 Then the pilots and captains began to flicker out, one at a time, until only Wyatt, Roberts, Jack, and their cybers remained.<\/p>\n \u201cWell done, Captain,\u201d Jack said in approval, waiting to see if he\u2019d read her right.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you,\u201d Wyatt answered.\u00a0 She examined him for several seconds before continuing.\u00a0 \u201cI could not have done it without you.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack cleared his throat.\u00a0 \u201cThank you,\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCan you tell me the error you made?\u201d Wyatt asked, raising both eyebrows.<\/p>\n Jack scowled.\u00a0 \u201cIf you\u2019d ask the pilots, I didn\u2019t make one,\u201d he returned, feeling his goat stand up and want to kick something.<\/p>\n Wyatt chuckled.\u00a0 That caught him off guard, and he cocked his head to the side in confusion.\u00a0 \u201cYes.\u00a0 You got their<\/em> attention quite well,\u201d she conceded.\u00a0 \u201cI meant your mistake with the ship captains.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack winced.\u00a0 \u201cYes.\u00a0 I\u2026didn\u2019t\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou didn\u2019t think before you opened your mouth?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, Ma\u2019am.\u201d\u00a0 Jack hated to admit the mistake, but he throttled the angry goat, and took her statement as gracefully as he could.\u00a0 He deserved it.<\/p>\n Wyatt nodded in approval of his honesty.\u00a0 \u201cRule One of command is to never give an order that will not, or can not, be followed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Ma\u2019am.\u00a0 Though to be fair, Ma\u2019am, the pilots were with me.\u201d<\/p>\n A curious smile filled her face, and she nodded slowly.\u00a0 \u201cYes, Major, they were.\u00a0 You fighter pilots are truly a strange lot.\u201d\u00a0 She shook her head and sighed.\u00a0 \u201cBut I do not believe Admiral Aneerin sent you all this way to charge into a battle that is almost certainly already over, one way or the other.\u00a0 Do you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, Ma\u2019am,\u201d Jack answered through gritted teeth.<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d Wyatt whispered.\u00a0 \u201cHe is always careful of which fights he engages in, isn\u2019t he?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Ma\u2019am,\u201d Jack answered again, hearing Aneerin\u2019s voice in his head.<\/p>\n \u201cNever willingly engage in a fight guaranteed to end your ability to fight the next fight, unless it is indeed your very<\/em> last fight.\u201d\u00a0 Aneerin had waged both war and peace for two thousand years, and had not yet found that last fight.\u00a0 He would be disappointed if Jack found it in a mere two.<\/p>\n \u201cGood,\u201d Wyatt said, and nodded towards Betty.\u00a0 \u201cNow go take care of your people, Major.\u00a0 I do believe you have a situation.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack turned to see Betty nodding in agreement.\u00a0 \u201cYes, Ma\u2019am,\u201d Jack said once more, saluted Captain Wyatt, and turned to leave the briefing room.\u00a0 Moments later, they were back on the lift, alone this time, and Jack aimed a set of raised eyebrows at Betty.<\/p>\n Jasmine flickered into being beside them, shaking her head.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s Natalie.\u00a0 I\u2019m trying, but she isn\u2019t doing good.\u00a0 We\u2019ll lose her if we can\u2019t do something,\u201d she reported.<\/p>\n Jack nodded very slowly, considering their options.\u00a0 He needed to do something.\u00a0 He just didn\u2019t know what.\u00a0 The lift opened into the hangar bay again, and he saw android avatars at work, reloading both Hunter\u2019s Hellcat and his Avenger.\u00a0 Jack froze, taking the sight in and feeling an idea somewhere.<\/p>\n It clicked.\u00a0 He considered the idea, turned it around inside his mind, and finally nodded.\u00a0 It just might work.<\/p>\n \u201cGet me Recovery<\/em>,\u201d he ordered, and strode onto the hangar deck with renewed purpose.\u00a0 He did indeed have people to take care of.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" They say that every thing that does not kill you makes you stronger.\u00a0 If that is true, than I must be Hercules by now, considering all the things that have failed to kill me.\u00a0 The Shang tried real hard, but[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2307-angel-flight-earc","uentry","postonpage-1","odd","post-author-jack"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2978"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2978\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2980,"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2978\/revisions\/2980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}