Hello, my name is Jack.\u00a0 One thing I learned a long time ago is that everyone dies sooner or later, even people who don\u2019t age like me.\u00a0 I\u2019ve learned to be careful, I\u2019ve learned to walk away when people who have no concept of living forever ask who wants to do it while talking you into something dangerous.\u00a0 I tried shortcuts to get around death, and learned that all shortcuts have side effects.\u00a0 I learned to treasure the life I have.\u00a0 I learned to live the way I did before I stopped aging.<\/p>\n
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Jack walked out of the brisk evening air into Devilcat Country\u2019s warm common room, shuffling a deck of cards in his hands while he looked for a game.\u00a0 Betty walked next to him, the soft hum of the holoemitters in his uniform that most people couldn\u2019t hear bringing her holoform to life.<\/p>\n
He saw some Devilcat pilots playing a game on one of the holotables.\u00a0 Small robots darted across the table, shooting lasers and missiles at each other in time to commands from the pilots around the table.\u00a0 Some of them were humanoid, while others looked like big robotic dogs.<\/p>\n
Intrigued, Jack walked up and saw Devilcat Ten in the group.\u00a0 The guy couldn\u2019t fly very well, but he was smart enough that Jack had him on the short list for transfer to the Cowboys.\u00a0 \u201cHey Roger.\u00a0 What\u2019s this you\u2019re playing?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
Roger smiled.\u00a0 \u201cMechs of War.\u00a0 Haven\u2019t you heard of it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jack nodded in recognition.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, I\u2019ve heard of it.\u00a0 Guys in big robots blowing up guys in big robots?\u201d<\/p>\n
Roger chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cIn really<\/em> simple terms, yeah.\u00a0 You never played it?\u201d<\/p>\n Jack shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cNo, though now that I think of it I think I remember seeing a cartoon when I was kid.\u201d<\/p>\n Roger shuddered and winced.\u00a0 \u201cThe less said about that<\/em> garbage the better.\u201d\u00a0 He gave Jack a perplexed look.\u00a0 \u201cYou really<\/em> never played?\u201d<\/p>\n Jack shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNope.\u00a0 I played all the Hellcat simulators until I discovered girls.\u201d<\/p>\n Roger chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cFair point.\u201d\u00a0 He aimed an evaluating gaze at Jack.\u00a0 \u201cSo that\u2019s<\/em> why you\u2019re so good in a Hellcat.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack shifted the side, not really wanting to toot his own horn.\u00a0 \u201cI shot a fair share of unnamed Asian, Khazic, and Arabic enemies on unnamed colony worlds in those games.\u00a0 Got a bit of experience there.\u201d<\/p>\n Roger snorted.\u00a0 \u201cGotta love the Political Correctness in fighting games.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack gave a dark chuckle.\u00a0 \u201cI bet the next round of games will be a lot more pointed on who the enemy is,\u201d he said with a smile.<\/p>\n \u201cNo bet.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCoward.\u201d<\/p>\n Roger shook his head with an amused smile.\u00a0 \u201cI \u2018just say no\u2019 to sucker bets.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cGood policy.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack\u2019s attention returned to the table as two of the mechs ran into each other, the dog mech pouncing on the humanoid mech.\u00a0 The dog thing ripped a leg off the other mech and ran away from its disabled enemy, weapons fire from other mechs exploding all around it.\u00a0 The pilot it belonged to thrust one hand up in the air in victory.\u00a0 Roger shook his head with another smile.\u00a0 \u201cSometimes we can get into the game a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cNo worries.\u00a0 I know what that\u2019s like.\u00a0 So why fight in mechs like this?\u00a0 Aren\u2019t there warships or something in the game that could drill them from orbit?\u201d<\/p>\n Roger nodded with a big smile.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s actually one of the most common questions.\u00a0 There are a couple reasons for that though.\u00a0 First is that there are no big juju aliens in the game.\u00a0 No Peloran to bring us gravtech, so we are still using standard old school rocket engines to move around.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack nodded his head in understanding.\u00a0 \u201cSo they have to assume gravity orbits when they get around a planet.\u00a0 That would<\/em> put a kink in sustained orbital bombardment.\u00a0 But they should still be able to drop a few loads of kinetic death on anything below as they fly overhead, right?\u201d<\/p>\n Roger chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cNot that simple actually.\u00a0 Between point defense and jammers, it\u2019s actually pretty hard to localize a target from orbit.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack nodded.\u00a0 \u201cGood point.\u00a0 That correlates with the real world.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cExactly.\u00a0 Also, it\u2019s against the Rules of War, so they don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack raised on eyebrow.\u00a0 \u201cThere are rules<\/em> to war?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHey.\u00a0 Just like the Lunar Treaty.\u00a0 Bad Things happened and they don\u2019t want them to happen again.\u00a0 A bunch of former nations in the history of the game bombed themselves into oblivion from space, so the surviving nations agreed to never do anything like that again.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAh.\u00a0 And everybody agrees?\u201d<\/p>\n Roger winced.\u00a0 \u201cMostly.\u00a0 Sometimes people play a little fast and loose with the rules of course, but it\u2019s a general agreement that nobody bombards cities from orbit.\u00a0 They know everybody else will return the favor after all.\u201d\u00a0 Roger winced and waved a hand at the game table, pointing at the status screen hovering above one edge.\u00a0 \u201cNow these<\/em> guys don\u2019t agree, and they really mean<\/em> it.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack focused and the words \u201cHoly Terran Empire\u201d at the top of the display came into focus.\u00a0 \u201cLet me guess, neither Holy, nor Terran, nor an Empire?\u201d<\/p>\n Roger laughed.\u00a0 \u201cActually, in their<\/em> point of view, they\u2019re all three.\u00a0 They\u2019re a religious theocracy, they control \u2018Holy Terra,\u2019 they have the best technology, and they believe the galaxy is destined to bow before them or burn.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack winced.\u00a0 \u201cThat<\/em> has to go over well with everybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot exactly.\u00a0 They basically go total war whenever they fight someone else big.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSucks to be whoever\u2019s world they\u2019re fighting on.\u201d<\/p>\n Roger laughed again.\u00a0 \u201cYeah.\u00a0 It generally doesn\u2019t go well for those guys.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack focused on the status update over the side controlling the dog mechs.\u00a0 He read the name Antares.\u00a0 \u201cAnatares?\u00a0 I thought you said no aliens?\u201d<\/p>\n Roger cleared his throat and aimed a hand at the table.\u00a0 \u201cThis is almost two thousand years in the future, Jack,\u201d he explained in a wry tone.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ve penetrated the Terran and Taurian Walls, explored the Betelgeuse Expanse, the Polaris, Rastaban, Antaran, and even Rigelian<\/em> Bubbles, and more.\u201d\u00a0 Roger smiled.\u00a0 \u201cThe Antarans are humans who have come back<\/em> to fight.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh,\u201d Jack whispered as he tried to switch his worldview around to consider it from that angle.\u00a0 \u201cI never thought of that.\u201d\u00a0 He brought a hand up to rub his jaw.\u00a0 \u201cI suppose Earth won\u2019t<\/em> always be the center of power it is now, will<\/em> it?\u201d<\/p>\n Roger sighed.\u00a0 \u201cRome was the center of all Western knowledge.\u00a0 The sun never set on the British Empire.\u201d\u00a0 He looked at the board where a dog mech took a hit and exploded.\u00a0 \u201cAnd sooner or later, the sun will set on Earth.\u00a0 The question is we have to consider is who will be controlling the new<\/em> centers of power.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack blinked and considered Roger for several seconds as he mentally placed Roger on top<\/em> of the list of which Devilcats to take.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t fly, but damn could he think long term.\u00a0 The Cowboys might just need that in the future.\u00a0 Jack started shuffling his cards again and nodded.\u00a0 \u201cThanks for talking to me about this.\u00a0 I\u2019ll have to think about it,\u201d he said and turned away.<\/p>\n \u201cWait!\u201d Roger said and Jack stopped.\u00a0 \u201cI think you want to play this game,\u201d Roger added with a smile.<\/p>\n Jack winced.\u00a0 \u201cActually, I normally like playing games that have real world significance.\u00a0 That\u2019s why I tend to do combat sims even now.\u00a0 And mechs aren\u2019t real.\u201d<\/p>\n Roger raised a finger in correction.\u00a0 \u201cActually, mechs<\/em> are real.\u00a0 We just don\u2019t use them for war<\/em> like that.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack cleared his throat and raised his eyebrows in annoyance.\u00a0 It was a meaningless correction as far as he was concerned.<\/p>\n \u201cBut that\u2019s not why I think you\u2019ll be interested,\u201d Roger set in a rush.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s the cybers.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack cocked his head to the side and turned to Betty.\u00a0 She took on the faraway look she used when accessing data for a second, and then came back into focus with a swift nod.\u00a0 Jack grunted and turned back to Roger.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m listening.\u201d<\/p>\n Roger licked his lips.\u00a0 \u201cLook, after Contact, we introduced cybers into the Mechs of War universe.\u00a0 We had a history of rogue AIs doing Bad Things and the cybers asked us to make them the good guys.\u00a0 So we created them in game.\u201d\u00a0 He waved a hand at the Antarans.\u00a0 \u201cOne of their early acts in game was to keep the Antarans from destroying themselves in their own private little Final War.\u00a0 The Antarans have an Indian motif, so the cybers took on the spirit guide nature and helped them out.\u00a0 And the real interesting thing is that in battle, the cybers become the mechs<\/em>, just like they become the fighters<\/em> for us<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack glanced at Betty to see her arms crossed and a look of approval on her face.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll bet a lot of cybers like that.\u201d<\/p>\n Roger chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cMore cybers play the Antarans than any other faction.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack pointed at the Terran side of the battle.\u00a0 \u201cSo what are their<\/em> cybers like?\u201d<\/p>\n Roger shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cThey actually don\u2019t have cybers the way we think of them.\u00a0 They copy the minds of their soldiers into cybernetic brains, but they do the same effective thing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cInteresting,\u201d Jack whispered and turned to look at Betty.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t seem to approve at all of the idea.\u00a0 \u201cNot many cyber fans of that faction, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMore than you\u2019d think, but not many, no.\u201d\u00a0 Roger pulled in a deep breath.\u00a0 \u201cBut the reason I think you\u2019d be interested in playing is that we have full simulator pods for the game.\u00a0 Like a Hellcat or Avenger pod, that a cyber can enter and help you play just like in real life.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack blinked as he considered that.\u00a0 \u201cInteresting.\u201d<\/p>\n Roger seemed to brighten up as he realized he was making progress.\u00a0 \u201cAnd the Department of Defense has accepted them as full scale pilot and cyber sim pods.\u00a0 If you\u2019re tired of all of the same old DoD sims, you can try this game out for some quality pilot and cyber time.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack looked at Betty with a speculative eye and she crossed her arms, looking interested.\u00a0 \u201cGood sales pitch,\u201d he whispered.<\/p>\n \u201cI always jump at the chance to get new people interested in the game,\u201d Roger said with a smile.<\/p>\n \u201cJack,\u201d Betty said and he turned to look at her.\u00a0 \u201cCharles called.\u00a0 He needs you at the office.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack nodded.\u00a0 \u201cGot it.\u00a0 Thanks for showing me this.\u201d\u00a0 He glanced at the game table, considering the cybers, and wondered just how realistic that was.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m going to think about it,\u201d he said and turned to stride out of the common room, shoving his playing cards in a pocket.<\/p>\n \u201cTalk to me anytime,\u201d Roger called out.<\/p>\n The chill, evening air descended around them and Jack pulled in a deep breath as his mind continued to mull over the idea.\u00a0 Betty walked next to him and they made their way across the street, dodging vehicles hovering down it.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s got you thinking?\u201d Betty asked as they cut through a back alley between buildings.<\/p>\n Jack shrugged, not wanting to tip off just how interested he was.\u00a0 \u201cJust wondering, I suppose.\u00a0 That copying minds into cyber brain thing.\u00a0 Is that really<\/em> possible?\u201d<\/p>\n Betty sighed as she kept pace with him onto another street.\u00a0 There was no traffic on ground level this time so they cut across without a worry.\u00a0 \u201cYes, it\u2019s been done before.\u00a0 But the main reason we wanted<\/em> it, doesn\u2019t really work so we don\u2019t do it anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack considered that for a moment, stepped up onto the sidewalk, and turned as he nodded.\u00a0 \u201cThe main reason being that there could be a backup of me<\/em> in case I died, right?\u201d<\/p>\n Betty nodded.\u00a0 \u201cThe problem with the whole idea is that the backup is a cyber too.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack sighed.\u00a0 \u201cAnd every cyber needs a partner,\u201d he said with a wave towards himself.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery cyber needs a genie<\/em> partner,\u201d Betty said in a firm tone.\u00a0 \u201cAnd no insult intended, but there just aren\u2019t many of you we want to partner with.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack chewed his lip as he considered that.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019d have a population problem if you tried that.\u00a0 Lots of cybers wanting to be partners with a selectively small number of people.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cExactly,\u201d Betty said and guided them around a corner.\u00a0 \u201cImagine if Drew had backed herself up.\u00a0 Right now, both<\/em> she and Jasmine would need to be partnered with somebody.\u00a0 And their own relationship would overshadow their new relationship.\u00a0 Back when we tried it, sometimes it worked, and sometimes it didn\u2019t.\u00a0 Sometimes the person in Drew\u2019s position got resentful that the laws forced her to find a partner.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t always have the same\u2026wish to find a partner that the rest of us are born with.\u00a0 We had some issues, and we chose to stop doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack frowned in thought, mind pondering something else.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll bet you had another problem.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe had more than one,\u201d Betty said with a smile.<\/p>\n Jack shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cI suppose you did.\u00a0 But I\u2019m betting a big one was the partners.\u201d<\/p>\n Betty cocked her head to the side and gave him an expectant look.\u00a0 \u201cExplain.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cWell, this partnership we have is\u2026pretty deep.\u201d<\/p>\n Betty nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYes it is.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow many people were willing to have a partnership with more than one person like this?\u201d<\/p>\n Betty sighed.\u00a0 \u201cYes.\u00a0 And that is why so many of us choose to shut down after our partner dies.\u00a0 It is hard to find another partner.\u00a0 It is hard to find one that we like.\u00a0 Hard to find one who doesn\u2019t already have a partner.\u00a0 Hard to find one willing to have more than one.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack tapped his chin in deep thought and stepped around a light pole.\u00a0 \u201cAnd I suppose sometimes someone would say<\/em> they are willing because they don\u2019t want to see you die, but then really not be willing to let you get close.\u00a0 They\u2019re happy with what they have and don\u2019t really want anything to upset the applecart so to speak.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d Betty said in a sad tone.\u00a0 \u201cThat happened as well.\u00a0 As I said, we had some issues, and we chose to stop doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDid I do that with Jasmine?\u201d Jack asked in a truly concerned voice.\u00a0 He looked around and didn\u2019t see her.\u00a0 He blinked as he actually realized for the first time that he hadn\u2019t seen much of her at all lately.\u00a0 \u201cWhere is<\/em> she?\u201d<\/p>\n Betty shook her head with a smile and brushed the shoulder of his uniform.\u00a0 \u201cRight here, like always.\u00a0 And you\u2019ve never<\/em> made her feel like a tagalong.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack frowned.\u00a0 \u201cBut I didn\u2019t realize<\/em> she wasn\u2019t here,\u201d he said with a wave of his hand.\u00a0 He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI should<\/em> have.\u201d<\/p>\n Betty shook her head again and opened her mouth to speak.\u00a0 She shut it as Jack heard another holoemitter hum to life.\u00a0 Jasmine appeared in the air next to him and shook her head.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u00a0 I should<\/em> have,\u201d Jack repeated in a more insistent tone.<\/p>\n Jasmine shook her head again.\u00a0 \u201cYou would notice if Betty wasn\u2019t here.\u00a0 Just like Drew<\/em> would have noticed if I wasn\u2019t\u2026there<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 Jasmine shivered a bit but got her composer back quickly.\u00a0 \u201cThe point is, me and you aren\u2019t like that.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know what you\u2019re thinking before you think it.\u00a0 And you can\u2019t tell what I\u2019m thinking from the way I twitch a finger.\u00a0 You don\u2019t notice my absence because my absence doesn\u2019t make you feel alone<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack glanced at Betty and she smiled back at him.\u00a0 He sighed as he realized Jasmine was right.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n Jasmine laughed.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t be.\u00a0 You\u2019ve always welcomed me when I\u2019m here.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack pulled in a deep breath, smiled, and decided to make it worth her time to show up.\u00a0 He spread both his arms out and wrapped them around the cybers\u2019 waists, barely touching the outer edge of their holoforms so he wouldn\u2019t break them.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat can I say?\u00a0 I just love walking down the street with two beautiful young ladies.\u201d\u00a0 If they both rolled their eyes at him, he bravely marined on and walked towards Charles\u2019 office with them.\u00a0 His eyes scanning to either side, he soon realized they weren\u2019t the only ones on the way.\u00a0 \u201cHey Tomcat, Juliet\u201d he said as the other man and cyber turned off a side street to match their course, the cybers exchanging nods.<\/p>\n \u201cJester, Betty, Jasmine,\u201d Tom answered with a smile.\u00a0 \u201cJust out for a walk or on your way somewhere?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d all three said in unison.\u00a0 Jack waggled his eyebrows at Tom who just shook his head in return.<\/p>\n \u201cCharles?\u201d he asked and nodded towards the small building ahead of them.<\/p>\n Jack shrugged as they walked up to the door.<\/p>\n Tom waved for Jack to move in first.<\/p>\n Tom probably wanted Jack to catch whatever flak came their way first.\u00a0 Lucky for both of them, Jack prided himself on being a non-stick surface when it came to trouble.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll bow out now,\u201d Jasmine said with a look at the street around them.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s going to be crowded in there.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack smiled at her as she faded out.\u00a0 \u201cJust as long as you promise to walk me back home,\u201d he said into the air and winked at Tom.\u00a0 The other man rolled his eyes and waved at the door again.\u00a0 Jack opened the door and walked into a room filled with the low hum of holoemitters, Betty right with him.\u00a0 He saw Jay, Charles, and their cybers already inside and started to call them out when he realized someone else was in the room.\u00a0 He stopped fast enough that Tom bounced off him, but still came to attention despite that.<\/p>\n \u201cAdmiral,\u201d he said in a far more respectful tone than he usually used.<\/p>\n \u201cJack, Betty,\u201d Aneerin answered with a bow of his head.\u00a0 \u201cTom, Juliet,\u201d he said with another.\u00a0 \u201cIt is good to see you again.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack scanned Aneerin\u2019s form carefully, noting where it didn\u2019t quite seem to fit with reality on the edges, and knew he was looking at a holoform.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will always be a pleasure,\u201d Tom returned as he squeezed around Jack.\u00a0 \u201cDo you have news about Oweoc?\u201d<\/p>\n Aneerin\u2019s mouth twitched in\u2026something that wasn\u2019t happy.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s actually why we\u2019re here.\u00a0 The courier I sent to Independence finally returned today.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s late,\u201d Charles noted, annoyance at its untimely nature easily showing through.<\/p>\n Aneerin nodded.\u00a0 \u201cAnd now we know why.\u00a0 Fifth Battle Fleet was not at Independence when the courier arrived.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d Tom asked, his voice suddenly concerned.\u00a0 \u201cWhere are<\/em> they?\u201d<\/p>\n Aneerin shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s the million dollar question.\u00a0 Six months ago they received information that a transport fleet was hijacked by Chinese pirates and taken to the Hyades Cluster.\u00a0 They left to investigate in force.\u201d<\/p>\n Charles frowned.\u00a0 \u201cWhy didn\u2019t they send a courier telling us of that?\u201d<\/p>\n Aneerin\u2019s expression turned grim.\u00a0 \u201cThey did.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh frak,\u201d Jack whispered as realization of just how bad this was hit him.\u00a0 Their reinforcements weren\u2019t coming.\u00a0 \u201cThe Chinese sucked them in.\u00a0 Do you think they even know we\u2019re at war<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n Aneerin looked like he\u2019d bitten down on something sour.\u00a0 \u201cIf they haven\u2019t left the Hyades Cluster to tell us what they\u2019ve found, I believe I can say with certainty that they do <\/em>know we are at war now.\u00a0 The more pertinent question is whether or not they are still alive<\/em> to consider<\/em> the fact.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat could kill<\/em> a Battle<\/em> Fleet<\/em>?\u201d Jack asked in disbelief.<\/p>\n Aneerin looked away for a long moment and sighed.\u00a0 \u201cWe have lost them before.\u00a0 But that was a long time ago.\u201d\u00a0 He aimed a sad smile at Tom.\u00a0 \u201cI do not know what the Chinese could have that could do that, but I intend to find out.\u00a0 The courier tried but their patrols were too tight to get through.\u00a0 We will break through<\/em> those patrols.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack shook his head and looked to Tom.\u00a0 \u201cYou know somebody in that fleet?\u201d<\/p>\n Tom nodded.\u00a0 \u201cOweoc.\u00a0 You remember Aneerin as the Peloran who made Contact.\u201d\u00a0 Tom shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cNot me.\u00a0 We\u2019d only landed on Independence a few hours before\u2026then this massive kilometer-long spaceship floated down through the clouds.\u201d\u00a0 Tom sighed.\u00a0 \u201cYou have no idea what it was like.\u00a0 You grew up with gravtech.\u00a0 I\u2019d just flown a rocket across the known universe, and here\u2019s this ship larger than anything we\u2019d ever imagined, just floating there, without any rocket flare at all.\u00a0 It was an amazing sight.\u201d\u00a0 He turned to look at Juliet standing next to him with a smile.\u00a0 \u201cThat was a pretty amazing day all around.\u201d<\/p>\n Juliet stood there as if there was no place she\u2019d rather be and smiled back.<\/p>\n Aneerin let out a long breath.\u00a0 \u201cOweoc still commands that ship, as well as the squadron attached to it.\u00a0 Just as I have been stationed at Terra since Contact, he has been stationed at Independence.\u201d\u00a0 He nodded towards Tom again.\u00a0 \u201cWherever he is, wherever the rest of the fleet is, we will do our utmost to find out what happened and where they are.\u201d<\/p>\n Charles cleared his throat to get their attention.\u00a0 \u201cThe question is how long will it take you to finish refitting?\u201d<\/p>\n Aneerin pursed his lips.\u00a0 \u201cA month,\u201d he bit out.\u00a0 \u201cAssuming we want all of the ships and all of the drones ready.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhich we do,\u201d Charles whispered.<\/p>\n Aneerin nodded his head, but didn\u2019t look happy about it.\u00a0 \u201cIndeed, we do.\u201d<\/p>\n Charles shook his head in agreement at how not good the situation was.\u00a0 \u201cThen we wait.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d\u00a0 Aneerin pulled in a deep breath, lifted his chin, and gave Charles a long look.\u00a0 \u201cGet me more fighters, Charles.\u00a0 We need the screen, we need the scouting.\u00a0 I can provide the heavy weapons, but I need<\/em> those fighters to keep the warships safe.\u201d<\/p>\n Charles gave the admiral a half bow.\u00a0 \u201cI will do everything I can, Admiral.\u201d<\/p>\n Aneerin smiled.\u00a0 \u201cI know you will.\u201d\u00a0 He gave everyone in the room a quick half bow.\u00a0 \u201cI know you all<\/em> will.\u00a0 Good day, Cowboys.\u201d\u00a0 With one more half bow, his holoform faded away, leaving the Cowboys alone to consider matters.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, that is that,\u201d Charles finally said in a calm tone.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s keep this between us for now.\u00a0 If it gets out that the Peloran fleet is not<\/em> coming to reinforce us, people could panic.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOorah,\u201d Jack and Jay uttered in reflex.\u00a0 At the silence from Tom, they looked at him.<\/p>\n Tom glanced back and forth between them for a moment, aware that something was amiss.\u00a0 \u201cWhat?\u00a0 We supposed to say yeehaw?\u201d he finally asked.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hello, my name is Jack.\u00a0 One thing I learned a long time ago is that everyone dies sooner or later, even people who don\u2019t age like me.\u00a0 I\u2019ve learned to be careful, I\u2019ve learned to walk away when people who[…]↓ 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":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2304-forge-of-war-1stdraft","uentry","postonpage-1","odd","post-author-jack"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/763","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=763"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/763\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1844,"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/763\/revisions\/1844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}