“His name is Kinthragor, Andrew. I was in a Lacertine prison with him.” I heard my brother Michael’s voice in my ear.

  “Michael? I..is that you?” I stammered at the sound of my brother’s voice. “Dad, Dad said they thought you were probably dead. How are you here? What is going on?”

  “It’s a long story, but I’ll give you the short of it. I got captured a while back. Me and my contingent of wasps were out on what should have been a routine mission. We were tasked with interrupting the Lacertine supply lines. After ships stopped coming with supplies, the lizards had resorted to shipping supplies between bases to try and keeep everyone fed. Well, it turned out to be a trap, and I was taken hostage. Once they found out who I was, I got transported to a larger base up in North Carolina.” Michael sighed deeply. “I gotta say, Andrew, I was confused as hell. We all thought you died after the drop. Nobody had seen or heard from you in damn near three years. So, imagine my confusion when the Lizards start interrogating me and asking questions about you.” “Yeah, sorry about that, Mike. I wish I had an excuse other than being selfish. I…”I trailed off.

  “We can get into that later, little brother. For now, let me finish,” Michael said. “I got thrown in a prison cell between interrogations, and that is where I met Kinny here. Long story short, Kinny was bound by honor to come to Earth and kill you, along with your entire bloodline.

  “What? This guy was going to kill me and my entire family?” I asked.

  “Yep! That was his plan.” Michael chuckled.

  I took a deep breath. “So you thought it would be a good idea to bring him straight to me? Mike, I know we haven’t seen each other in a while, but damn brother, how stupid can you be?”

  “Haaa! Still uptight and self-righteous, I see.”Michael bellowed.

  “I mean, I feel like that was a little uncalled for…damn,” I replied.

  “Calm down, Andrew. Look, I saved his life. He was gonna die when the Rerek ships attacked the base where we were being held. After that, we drove from North Carolina, back to Louisiana in a lacertine UTV. I can give you that story another time. Long story short he gave up on his honor killing mission. Believe it or not, we are good friends now and once he heard what was going on with you and the Council he committed to helping.”

  “Just like that, huh? He gives up on his honor bound duty to kill the man that killed his brother. His brother, who by the way, was responsible for cutting off my arms, imprisoning me and several of my friends and was at least partly responsible for the death of one of those friends. And you are just buying it, Mike?”

  “I don’t have time to convince you right now, Andrew. All I can see is that he is here and he has proven that he has my back. You’re just gonna have to trust me here.”

  “I trust you, Mike. I don’t know this, Kinthragor. I don’t have time for this right now, either. He is your problem for now. I need you to understand something, though.”

  “What is that, Andrew?” Michael asked.

  “If he turns out to be anything other than an asset to our mission here, I will facilitate a reunion between him and his brother. Make sure he knows that.” I said resolutely.

  “So, I guess the rumors are true then.” Michael sighed. “I had heard you were…different. It seems we got a lot of catching up to do, little brother.” “Reunion is gonna have to wait. I’m glad you’re here, Mike, I really am. How are Nat and the kids?”

  “Well, she wasn’t exactly jumping for joy when I told her I was coming with C.J.. We had a day to catch up. As soon as Natasha finished prepping the Bloodhound, she sent the PUP to pick us up, and we were off. She gets it, though, Andrew. This is bigger than any of us. Earth is in a better place, for now. Natasha finished that virus and uploaded it into the Lacertine generator network. Their portable power grid is all but useless now. She was able to create a backdoor that would allow humans to recoup the dead generators, so Dad connected with several of the surrounding militia groups, and they are raiding what is left of the Lacertine bases in the area. Once they get enough generators, they should be able to consolidate their forces and push toward some of the bigger bases. The Lizards are starving and running out of options. The Rerek orbital strikes didn’t help any. Once Natasha and Princess Danae took out the Rerek ships it cleared the remaining human forces to take the offensive. It won’t be fast but they should be fine until we can get back.”

  “Damn, I forgot all about that. I gotta thank Natasha for following through with her promise,” I said.

  “Ohhhh, Captain Dawes. It was nothing, honestly. You can thank me by getting safely back to the Bloodhound and resuming command. I would like nothing more than to feel you sitting comfortably in the captains chair…running your fingers up and down my control panels and commanding me to do your bidding,” Natasha chimed in uncomfortably.

  “Natasha, still as uncomfortably aggressive as always, I see. It’s good to hear your voice again. You did a great job with that virus. It really means a lot to me, and the people of Earth.”

  “Would you go as far as to say that,” Natasha paused before lowering her voice to a sultry whisper, “that I was a…good girl, Captain? Was I your good girl?”

  “Jesus, Natasha! Calm down, this is an open channel and I have spoken to you about being more professional. You did a great job, let’s just leave it at that.” I replied uncomfortably.

  “Uhh, what was that?” Michael asked.

  “Oh, ha, that?” C.J. chuckled. “Natasha has a crush on Andy. I’m not sure exactly what she thinks can happen but damn you gotta give her credit for trying.”

  “Anything can happen, literally anything,” Natasha said excitedly. “If Captain Dawes would just open himself to the experience. For example, there is a small data port in his quarters, with a little spit and some initiative…”

  “NATASHA! That’s enough.” I shouted as Red and Kindo stared at me in surprise. “Can we get back to the task at hand?”

  “Damn, Natasha. I didn’t know you were a freak like that. Just spit on that thang, Andy! Hahaha.” C.J. laughed over the comms.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  “You people are responsible for saving Earth and crippling the Galactic Council?” Michael asked.

  “We are learning as we go, Mike,” I sighed. “Believe me, I am just as surprised as you.”

  “What do you want us to do, Andy?” C.J. asked. “We are about a light second out from the planet. Natasha is hiding the Bloodhound in the shadow of a local asteroid field. I think we are safe for now, depending on next steps.”

  “Have you spoken to any of the rest of the crew?” I asked. “I know our comms are relayed through the Bloodhound, so until just now we didn’t have any way to communicate.”

  “No, Captain. You were our first call. Would you like me to try to contact the other members of the crew?” Natasha asked.

  “Try, Natasha. I don’t know if you will have any luck. Look, I need to catch you guys up on what is going on down here. It’s not good, and things are about to get worse if I had to guess. Natasha, if you are able to make contact with any members of the crew, please patch them through to me immediately. I fear you won’t have much success, though. Let me catch you all up to speed, and then we can figure out our next step.

  “Mr. Dawes. I am happy to hear that your ship and some of your crew were able to make contact. It seems the universe provided assistance when we needed it.” Matthias said, sitting in one of the empty chairs near the conference room table. “With the added firepower of your ship, we should have a much better chance at accomplishing our mission, wouldn’t you agree?”

  I leaned back in my chair and ran my hands through my hair, sighing heavily. “Your guess is as good as mine, Matthias. I really don’t know what were up against here. I know I have to face Jax, but other than that, I really don’t know our next move.”

  “Keep the main thing the main thing, Mr. Dawes.” Matthias pulled a stinger from his jacket. “You have your objective, and it will not be an easy task from what I hear. I put some feelers out to get more info on this, Jax. It seems he has had quite a journey since arriving on Boutelerien. This mysterious backer of his really seems to have quite the grasp on the Council.”

  “How bad is it?” I asked.

  “It’s not great. From what I hear, there has been a steady flow of decently levelled Chaff being brought into the Council’s defense force headquarters over the last few days.”

  “Okay, is that something to be alarmed about? Doesn’t the Council exclusively employ initiated people into their security force?” I asked.

  “Why, yes, they do,” Matthias took a long drag of his stinger and flicked the ashes into an ashtray. “That is not what alarms me, though. It seems none of them are exiting the building. There have been at least 25 chaff that have entered that complex over the last week. None have exited.”

  “I’m lost. If they signed on to the security force, they could just be bunked down inside, going through training or something. I don’t see how that is alarming. I need actionable intel here, Matthias, not conjecture.”

  Matthias leaned forward, placing his palms on the table, looking me in the eyes. “Mr. Dawes, I forget that you are so young and uneducated in the ways of the galaxy and its history. This is not, as you called it, conjecture. This is a real problem and one that is highly illegal and immoral. These people who are being brought into the Council security complex are not willing participants. They are being brought in against their wills and are not leaving. Think for a second, really think. What would you assume was happening to these people?”

  “Look, Matthias. I really don’t know,” I shrugged. “Are they putting them in jail or something? I really don’t know what I’m missing here.”

  Matthias leaned back and closed his eyes. “They are farming them, Mr. Dawes. A process that was outlawed after the first Reaping. It was the whole reason for the creation of the Council Enforcers.”

  “Farming…them?” I swallowed hard. “They are killing them for the experience?”

  “That is my guess, Mr. Dawes. I fear they are being farmed to strengthen this, Jax. Do you happen to recall what his level was the last time you were with him?”

  I thought for a minute. “No, I think he was in the mid to high 20’s,” I snapped my fingers in realization. “Natasha, you there?”

  “Of course, Captain Dawes. What can I do for you?” Natasha replied in my comm.

  “You have a record of everyone’s class and level in the crew, right?”

  “Why, of course I do, Captain.”

  “What level was Jax the last time you checked?”

  “He had risen to level 27, Captain. He and Matty were nearly the same level.” Natasha replied.

  I looked at Matthias. “Level 27, according to Natasha’s records.”

  Matthias sighed. “He could have gained 20 or more levels depending on the level of chaff that were farmed. This will not be an easy fight, Mr. Dawes. Especially without the benefit of your armor and abilities.” “I don’t have a choice, Matthias. I know his class. I have a decent understanding of his abilities. He is mostly built for long-range fights and depends on camouflage and concealment. If I can get in close, I might have a chance.” “I’m afraid I have more bad news, Mr. Dawes,” Matthias frowned and leaned forward. “He was also given physical upgrades. I am not fully aware of the process used, but it seems he will be much more of a threat than you originally expected.”

  “The fight is what it is. I have to trust that I can win. Otherwise, I lose before the fight begins. We have other things to worry about, Matthias. How are we gonna get my friends out of there? How are you gonna take out the Council? There is more to worry about than just one fight.” I leaned forward, putting my elbows on the table. “Please tell me you have a plan.”

  Matthias smiled, “Oh, I have a plan, Mr. Dawes. I’m afraid it leaves you without support, though. It seems you will have to trust my little squad to save your crew,” Matthias stood, and stepped up beside me, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Deals are all fine and good, Mr. Dawes, until your part of the deal requires trust. This mission will not succeed without trust…both yours and mine.