Chapter 5

Xi Pegasi System
System Command
14/37/41 NR 0615 Hours

Aaron turned as the admittance chime sounded. “Come in.” He’d just finished packing, and he closed his locker as the door to his quarters opened. David Matthews stood in the doorway with an anxious look on his face. “I’m ready, David,” Aaron said teasingly, and then his expression blanked as his chief of staff’s expression registered. “What is it?”

“We just received a message from the sats at the wormhole, Sir. The Unis have transited. Tracking says it’s six of their cruisers, plus escorts.”

“Luisa was right on the mark, then.” Aaron picked his locker up and started for the door. “Let’s move.”

The two officers made their way to the nearest hangar bay, where a shuttle waited to transfer them to Aaron’s flagship. The transports carrying the colonists were two hours from the Delta Volantis wormhole, with the remaining warships screening them. They trotted through the hatch into the hangar bay, where Aaron’s remaining staff stood waiting. Most of them were staying behind, along with their families. A rating appeared and took Aaron’s locker as he stopped in front of the group at the shuttle’s main hatch. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he said in a carrying voice, “I wish there was more time, but I want to thank you all for your courage and hard work. I will do my best to not disappoint you.” He turned and entered the shuttle, mindful of the need for haste.

“That was a quick speech,” a familiar voice said as he entered the cabin. Luisa McDaniel smiled up at him from her seat near the hatch.

Aaron settled into the seat next to her. “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be aboard ship.”

Luisa shrugged. “I decided to ride out with you. Besides, my doctor insisted on one last exam before I left. My bones aren’t responding to the treatments as well as she’d hoped, and they were fiddling with the nannies practically while I was walking out the door.”

The main hatch closed and Aaron could see the last person disappear from the hangar bay as the depressurization warning horn blared. The sound faded quickly as the air was pumped from the bay. Two minutes later, they were clear of the bay. “Stand by for acceleration,” the pilot intoned over the PA system, and then they all were pressed back in their seats as the shuttle’s main engines ignited.

“I noticed that the shuttle has extra tanks mounted,” Luisa commented. “I think they’re in a hurry.”

“The Terrans – the Unis, just translated about twenty minutes ago,” Aaron replied tightly. “We didn’t get all the transports out of here in time to avoid being spotted.”

“Damn. We took too long. I was afraid of that.”

“I know, but we had to get as many people out as we could. At least the outposts in the other systems have been warned. They’re evacuating Delta Volantis, and 10 Ceti is on alert.” Aaron settled himself deeper in his seat; the g-forces were building as the pilot pushed the shuttle hard to catch the Moshe Dyan, the new fleet flagship.

Luisa looked out the porthole and watched the blue and white planet disappear as the pilot rolled and pulled the shuttle’s nose onto its new heading. After a moment, she turned to Aaron. “You know, there’s something I want to ask you, if you’ll forgive the question.” “Anything you want to know.”

“Why would you name your flagship after an Israeli general?”

Aaron chuckled. “We wanted to name it after Yamina Evans, Roger Evans’ wife. When she heard about it, she had a fit and called the president. Even Rita couldn’t talk her into it, and then she insisted that we name it after a real hero. I think she’s still mad at me for suggesting the name.”

Luisa nodded. “Where is she now?”

“She works on one of the outposts in the Beta Mensae system after becoming a doctor. She was the first graduate of our medical school, in fact. I hear she’s a pretty good surgeon, too. Pretty impressive for an ex-grunt, if you ask me.”

“Hm, I wonder what she’d think of that comment.”

Aaron shook his head. “Before or after she dismembered me? She was an Israeli Army noncom, and a good one. She and her first husband were the top couple picked from Israel. He was an aerospace engineer, I believe.”