Chapter 12: Itrea

Kane, Ifra, and Ramírez stood in shock at what they had seen. The captain had sacrificed his life to save the Atra in the most brilliant fashion ever. They watched all of it on display. The explosion was intense, even if it was thousands upon thousands of kilometers away.

“I can’t believe it,” Kane said. “He’s gone...”

“The Gabatrix ... the Captain ... and the Aksren,” Ramírez said as he looked down. “It should have been me on that ship. He didn’t deserve to do that.”

Kane felt remorse as Ifra kept a good grip on his arm. He barely knew the captain, but he felt like a friend someway or somehow. Now, he was dead.

“Never have I seen an act of courage of a UHN sailor,” Ramírez said. “I should have been the one to do that. I feel ... shame for him throwing his life away. I had nothing to lose.”

Kane sighed. “I remember what the Captain told me awhile back. He told me about the incident where we met the Itreans for the first time. He was stuck on the Drake as his crew sacrificed their lives to save the ship he was on. The Captain on the Cabot told him that ‘it wasn’t his time yet.’”

“Yeah ... now I have to bear witness to it too. That was courage that Gabatrix would have applauded above all. Don’t worry, Captain ... this might have been a suicide mission, but we live to tell your tale. Your actions will be remembered by the UHN for as long as we live.”

Kane was still shocked. The Gabatrix was a solid ship in one second, and then it was no more the next second later. The place he was talking and everything. It was a shining example of the unpredictability of the universe.

Ramírez watched the screen to see the Aksren third salvo coming in. The Aksren missiles were still coming in hot. The battle was still not over yet until the last salvo was destroyed. Missiles were again coming, but it was the last salvo they had to worry about. The Atra’s missiles were homing in on the enemy munitions.

Impact ... one missile struck an enemy missile ... two more went down ... one of the missiles missed but turned and continued to home in. Four more went down in all. There were two missiles still closing in on the Atra.

The beep sound began to activate. Kane was well aware of the sound. The beeping started to intensify in rhythm as the Aksren missiles were still coming in.

“Brace for impact!” Ramírez called out.

Two missiles flew straight at the Atra’s forward section. The CIWS guns refused to operate as one of the warheads hit the gate ring, blowing two of the probes up. The last missile flew between the developing ring and impacted the port bow of the battleship. The warhead hit the armor and exploded not far from the bridge section where they were located. It blew the forward torpedo tube open, but the armor held. The explosion caused everyone to stagger. The vectoring thrusters began to push the ship back to its location to keep it stable. The blast faded as a large scorch mark was left near the ship’s nose. The port bow torpedo tube was offline, but the T’rintar warship had survived the attack.

“That was close...” Ramírez said as he recomposed himself. “If that missile hit any higher, we might not be talking right now. Are you alright?”

“I’m ok ... Ifra?” Kane asked, looking at her.

“I am good.”

“It’s over...” Ramírez said. “Space is clear of all hostile activity. The gate probe array took some damage, but it’ll only delay our departure to New Olympia for a couple more minutes. I admit if the Captain didn’t stop those missiles, the Aksren would have dominated the battle.”

“It is because it is a dreadnought...” Tara’Talar said.

They turned to see that Tara’Talar had left her alcove. Instead, she walked up to all three that were in the corner. She overheard the conversation and interjected.

“Adjunct...” Ifra said. “Are we safe?”

“We are safe...” She struggled to say in English. “The Aksren clanship is destroyed. The Gabatrix saved us. Captain saved us. Your human is brave. He will not be forgotten.”

“I guess you have heroes in your society...” Kane remarked.

She gave a slight nod. Her reptilian eyes looked at Kane and then Ramírez closely.

“What happened to the spy on this ship?” Ramírez asked.

“She was killed,” Tara’Talar said.

“I think the word is ex ... exe ... execat...” Ifra struggled to say.

“Executed...” Kane corrected.

“How much longer before the jump?” Ramírez asked.

“Four of your minutes. No other ship can hurt us,” the adjunct replied.

“There are some things we still need to discuss as well,” Ifra said. “The meeting for our peace treaty has been moved. Things have changed rapidly. We need to find a place to discuss the final treaty signing.”

Kane put his hand to his chin. “We can’t discuss and sign it here?”

“We can ... but we have a mission to bring your people home.”

“What do you have in mind?”

Ifra seemed to look away for a short bit. Kane could tell she had an answer but didn’t want to say.

“I have the ability to ask and change the location..., but I must also have your permission to make it happen. I wanted a place of fam ... famil ... a place of knowing.”

“Ah ... well...” Kane thought. “We can have it on Mars.”

“What?” Ramírez questioned. “I don’t think...” he stopped as he saw Ifra and Tara’Talar both looking at him. He saw their faces. Ramírez seemed to bite his tongue. Even he had a chance to see the T’rintar long enough to feel that it would be alright.

“Would your people accept the peace treaty signing there?” Ifra asked.

“I honestly don’t know,” Kane said. “So much has happened today. We both fought against a common foe. If my people saw it, they would allow you to visit Mars, but ... they haven’t. You need to return our people. Not just the people of the Gabatrix but also the Euterans. I think they might do it.”

“I’m not so sure,” Ramírez said. “We still have to convince the New Olympians to let us in their space. The colony might not have an issue with us being there, but we would have to deal with getting transportation back to Mars. New Olympia seems afraid of having us on their warships for some reason. If the UHN or UWA refuse to send a ship to pick us up, we would have a new problem on our hands.”

“Somebody would have to give in, though. I think the peace treaty should be ratified on Mars. Everything we’ve discovered these last few days. The Itreans come from Earth. You might as well be our sisters. The signing would usher in a new era for everyone.”

“Ugh ... I don’t know, Kane,” Ramírez replied. “We just dealt with a situation where the UWA let an AI live after she tried to take over the planet. While they let her live and continue, they would be a little rattled to see an enemy ship come into orbit.”

“I must agree with Kane,” Ifra said. “I would not have an issue having the talks there. Besides ... I want to see Itrea.”

“I agree as well,” Tara’Talar said. “I want to see the world, too.”

“I thought you needed to examine the proof more before claiming it’s Itrea,” Kane replied.

“Our people ... we have faith. Itrea is faith ... home is faith. Even if it isn’t...”

“It’s still hope...”

“Yes,” she answered.

“Then, it’s settled. We agree to have the meeting on Mars. The first thing we do once the New Olympians recognize us as not a threat is to make a jump to Luna. We get a nice view of Earth ... err Itrea, and then talk with the UWA officials to let us to Mars.”

Tara’Talar looked at the display on the corner of the bridge. She could see the gate probe array was complete. She gestured for Ramírez to follow her.

He nodded his head as he walked with her to the alcove. Kane could see that the Atra was starting the first process of opening a gate. It would take a little bit. The array ring began to glow a bright blue. A small vortex of energy began to form. It was slow but growing in size. Both Kane and Ifra stood and looked at each other. They finally had some time to talk to each other.

“How are you?” he asked her.

“I am ... alright,” she replied.

“It won’t be easy ... my people might reject all of this at first, but it will work. This alliance will happen, and our people will be working together for a common goal.”

She seemed to enjoy his confidence. “I am happy that you feel that way,” she took his hand and held it close. Her claws gripped his hand. He could feel the scales of her hand as he took his hand and covered hers. “I choose well. I promise to make this union great. You will not be disappointed in our treaty and our joining.”

“I promise to make sure that our treaty goes well. It looks like we will be working together for a very long time.”

“It will be our great success,” she said. “Even if the other Itrean clans refuse to have peace, at least we make peace with the humans. You save us, and we save you.”

He tightened his grip on her hand. He felt a genuine sense of belonging to her. He didn’t have to say anything more on the matter. He turned his head back to the console. He could see the swirling vortex get bigger and bigger. In another minute, the vortex would be stable.

“Kane!” Ramírez called out. “Come here.”

He let go of Ifra’s hand as they both headed into the alcove. They reached the central console where Ramírez and Tara’Talar were both standing. They could see the activity going on in the console.

“There...” Ramírez explained. “The wormhole will be fully formed soon. It’s stable enough to send communications through.”

“Did you try to send a message to New Olympia?”

“I did ... twice, but I’m getting no response. I have no idea if there is interference or if they believe me. When we jump, we need to keep the hail going to them in all channels. Repeat to them that we are not there to attack the colony. Another human voice might work. If they hear you, it might help convince them instead of me just doing it. Otherwise, without knowing if it’s interference..., we have to jump in and hope they don’t gun us down.”

A series of Itrean words were exchanged. The crew seemed to be informing the adjunct of what was happening to the gate ring construction. The chirps, cackles, and words filled the room. Tara’Talar responded back to them.

“The vortex is complete...” Tara’Talar told them. “We will be jumping soon.”

The Atra was in position. The swirling vortex began to emit electrical lightning from the entrance of the wormhole. The probes were keeping the hole stable. They were clear to fly through it. All they had to do was dive into it.

“Taking us in,” the adjunct said.

The four felt the jolt as the engine thrusters began to activate. Bright blue flames erupted as it nudged the ship forward. The engines began to cease as the warship slowly flew into the wormhole.

Kane felt an immediate effect again. It was the feeling of being in two places at once. It was very brief, but it was a feeling that he was all used to having. The Atra could see a tunnel of light as they flew great distances. It was less than a second as the ship suddenly saw the exit and flew out.

It happened so quickly as the T’rintar clan crew saw a new set of stars on their screens. The Atra had left from the exit aperture. The green T’rintar battleship had emerged to see a red dwarf star in the distance, followed by the orange planet of New Olympia. The tidally locked world could be seen where the star lighted up half the side, and the other half was in darkness.

The exit aperture emitted a blue lightning effect from the wormhole as it remained stable. After reaching a safe enough distance, the forward thrusters activated and slowed the ship to a complete stop.

“There...” Ramírez commented as he watched the display. “Let’s hope that...”

There was a ruckus from one of the consoles outside the alcove. The Yutilian woman was speaking in her own language that Kane or Ramírez couldn’t understand. She was screeching a little bit as her volume increased. She sounded like she was in distress.

“What did she say?” Kane asked Ifra.

There was some fear that grew in Ifra. Her feathers rose a little bit. “The people you call New Olympia ... one of their ships...”

She pointed to the display, and Kane could see what was happening.

One of the great white dreadnoughts used by the New Olympian fleet immediately began to turn. It seemed to turn slowly at first. There was activity going on in that ship. The Atra was about 40,000 kilometers from the planet. It watched as the New Olympian dreadnought began to turn its massive cannon towards the Atra. It even spun itself to ensure that the cannon was facing directly at the Atra.

“Kane!” Ramírez called out to him. “The New Olympians didn’t get our message. There’s an energy buildup from their cannon. They’re going to shoot us!”

Tara’Talar’s eyes widened. “What is...?” she tried to ask.

“Tara’Talar, keep the communication channel open. Hail them!”

Kane was watching the whole event taking place on the screen. Outside, the sole dreadnought began to emit some sort of drawing vortex. It was coming from the massive four arrays in the midsection of the ship. It seemed to draw some kind of energy. It was in a variety of colors, like the dreadnought, creating some rainbow effect. The particles were well-lit, and they seemed to collect and swirl into the arrays like the dreadnought was some sort of black hole. It was slow, but you could see the cannon start to get brighter. The gathering energy was going straight towards the massive barrels.

The adjunct activated a signal from her console. “Kane...” She called out to him. “Tell them now.”

Kane walked up next to the console to some sort of speaker and mike system. He spoke out as clearly as he could. Every second mattered as Ramírez watched the display in absolute alarm.

“New Olympia!” Kane called out. “Do not fire on us! I am Ambassador Kane. We are from the UHN Gabatrix!”

The dreadnought continued to pull in more energy. The dual cannon began to glow brighter and brighter in color. The entire barrel that was the size of the UHN Gabatrix was glowing white-hot.

“Impossible...” Ramírez said quietly. “It isn’t possible...”

“New Olympia ... stand down!” Kane pleaded. “We are part of the Gabatrix. The crew had to move to the T’rintar warship!”

The cannon emitted a small flash. The swirling energy began to cease on the arrays, but the cannon was glowing brighter than its own star. It began to fluctuate, almost like it was some sort of slow-spinning pulsar. The entire ship wasn’t just aiming its cannon at the Atra ... it was a cannon.

Ramírez and Tara’Talar stood in absolute shock. In some ways, it was beautiful to see. Perhaps it was beyond imagination. The warship was absolutely massive, but now it was depicted as a burning torch of pure light. Adrenaline pumped through Ramírez’s veins. Kane pleaded one last time.

“Please! Do not fire on us! I repeat, do not fire on us! The T’rintar and the UWA are trying to reach an agreement...”

Suddenly, the cannon began to lose its glow. The dreadnought started to turn its cannon away from the Atra. It seemed to reset itself as the ship began to rotate itself. Slowly, the main dual supergun, whatever it was, was shutting down. The barrels dissipated whatever energy it was and vented it freely into space.

“Incredible...” Ramírez said as he breathed a sigh of relief. “It was ... impossible.”

“You do not know the strength of your own people?” Tara’Talar asked him.

“The ... the New Olympians ... they’re a part of the UWA. They are a colony ... but they shouldn’t have this power. It’s beyond our capability.”

“What were they going to do to us?” Kane asked.

“That ... was some sort of energy buildup. I would almost say that it was like a laser cannon of some sort ... but I have never seen a laser cannon of that power. An energy cannon ... it simply isn’t possible.”

“The Shal’rein lost two fleets from the New Olympians ... didn’t they?” Kane asked.

“Yeah ... That one dreadnought. It would have had the power to ... do whatever it wanted,” the commander looked at the display of the great white ship. “More mysteries...”

“We don’t have this technology,” Tara’Talar said. “Only our great ... the great...,” she paused as she asked Ifra to translate her words.

“Starfortress,” she corrected her.

“Yes ... only our great star fortresses have that power, but it requires a star to generate it.”

“Something tells me that it was no star powering that thing,” Ramírez said. “Whatever the case may be ... I’m glad they are not against us.”

There was a message that came from the console.

“Atra,” an unknown female voice echoed from the speakers. “Switch on to your viewer so we can talk. Beware that if this is a trick, you will be destroyed.”

The threat was there. Tara’Talar tapped her claw on one of the pads of the console. The display switched over from the dreadnought to a face that no one seemingly knew.

“This is Fleet Admiral Fumi Yuki of the UHN Mnemosyne,” a female officer calmly answered. “I suppose that you have some explanation as to why there is an Itrean warship in New Olympian space?”

The female officer seemed Japanese in appearance. Her uniform seemed interesting as she wore blue and white. Her hair was long and flowing downward along with her shoulder blades. She was young, almost like she was in her late twenties. Behind her was a white room. She seemed to be sitting down behind a desk. Fumi Yuki had a blue and white cap that had a multicolored pinwheel on the top. There was also some sort of rainbow-colored vein running behind her. It almost seemed to be like a waterfall of light. The officer seemed to be gorgeous and beautiful by appearance. She had a look of seriousness, but at the same time, she was very relaxed as she had her hands together.

“Well?” she asked as she smiled.

“My apologies, Fleet Admiral,” Kane responded to her. “The ship that I am on is an Itrean battleship. It’s from clan T’rintar. The Gabatrix was sent to negotiate a peace treaty with them. We were making progress when another clan warship, the Aksren, attacked us.”

“I see...” She replied. “Continue.”

“I am the ambassador on the ill-fated journey. The Aksren sent a dreadnought to stop the peace meeting from completion. Captain William moved the crew of the Gabatrix to the Atra before he sacrificed himself and the Gabatrix to take out the enemy.”

Fumi looked down. She nodded her head. “Such bravery...” She remarked. “A true hero for the UHN cause.”

“Fleet Admiral, we have crew on board that need to be transferred. We need a ship. Would you be willing to allow us transport?”

Her answer was immediate. “I am sorry, Kane. I cannot.”

“Why?” Ramírez asked her. “My apologies, Fleet Admiral. My name is Commander Ramírez. I was the executive officer of the UHN Gabatrix. My responsibility is to get our crew back home. In the name of the UHN charter, you have to give us a ship...”

“No commander ... I am sorry. I will not give you one of our ships. Only New Olympians or their trusted spouses are allowed to even set foot on our ships.”

Ramírez sighed as he shook his head. “Typical ... New Olympians have all this power. You refuse to fight to defend the colonies. I would have expected this...”

Fumi seemed to ignore his comment.

“Would you allow us the opportunity to contact Luna or Mars and arrange a transport ship to come pick us up?” Kane asked.

“Of course,” she answered as she pressed something on some pad on her desk. “I am opening up the gate array communication/UWAN network. Syncing it up ... hmmm ... trying to link it to the Itrean ship ... there.”

Tara’Talar did her quick nods as she looked at the data she was receiving. She then gestured to the commander that there was a link established.

“Thank you, Fleet Admiral,” Kane told her.

“You are very welcome,” she replied with a smile.

Ramírez scuffed and shook his head.

“We will go ahead and contact them. Thank you for not shooting us down,” Kane said.

She shrugged. “At least no one got hurt. Didn’t know if the Itreans were trying something new or not. Let me know if you need anything else that I might be able to help you out.”

The video communication ceased as it went back to the display of the UHN Mnemosyne. It was slowly activating its four forward thrust nozzles to push the ship back into the fleet formation.

“Their technology is incredible...” Ramírez commented. “Things that are impossible to build, they accomplished.”

“All I saw were rainbow-colored lights behind her,” Kane remarked. “It didn’t seem that impressive.”

“Ah ... Kane, have you gone blind? Have you taken a look at her during the conversation?”

“Of course, I have.”

Ramírez shook his head. “Politicians ... so blind to the simple things. Next time, you observe her hair when you talk to her.”

“What do you mean?” he paused. “All I saw was a woman with long flowing downward hair. I ... oh...,” he suddenly realized.

“Yeah..., their ships have no spinning rotating mechanisms. They were experiencing gravity. As I said, we don’t have that technology, yet they had it on their ships.”

“Hmmm...” he thought about it. He shrugged his shoulders. “Well ... we have to carry out with the mission.”

“We wish to see Itrea,” Ifra told him. “I wish to see it for myself. This peace meeting will be conducted on Mars, but we also ask to see Itrea for ourselves. It will be the most important thing for our people. It is your bargaining chip, and it will be our sal ... salv ... vation.”

“We prefer to deliver your people ourselves,” Tara’Talar said.

“Why?” Ramírez asked.

“We are ... afraid that if we deliver your people, they will kill us.”

“That won’t happen, I assure you,” Kane said. “It isn’t the job of the UHN or the UWA to kill the people that save them.”

Tara’Talar seemed to think about it. She seemed unsure.

“Please,” Ifra said. “It is better that New Olympia did not agree to take your crew off our ship. Your Captain requested that we take your crew home. We must honor his request.”

Ramírez seemed to nod his head. “Yeah ... he did. Yeah...” There appeared to be a long pause in the commander’s thinking. He finally decided to respond. “Then we know what to do next,” he said reluctantly. “Tara’Talar, we need to open a hail to Luna. It’s Earth’s ... Itrea’s moon. Mars is not far from it. We can make our jump to Luna from this gate.”

“Doing it now,” she said.

She put her claws on the console as she pressed a couple of buttons. She waited as she looked at them.

“Hmmm ... this will be interesting,” Ramírez remarked. “I don’t know if they will acknowledge this or not.”

“It is on. Your gate ... a ... ray is putting you through. You may speak,” the adjunct said.

Ramírez put his hand on the console as he leaned on it. “Luna base, this is Commander Ramírez of the former ship UHN Gabatrix. Please respond.”

There was a short pause as the four waited. Ramírez seemed to be impatient.

“Luna Base ... Gentren 6 Base ... please respond.”

Finally, a female voice came over the intercom. It was audio-only. “This is Gentren 6 base. I am receiving your message.”

“Gentren 6, my name is Ramírez. I am part of the UHN Gabatrix. Our ship was lost at sector MJJ-12. We are part of the diplomatic meeting to negotiate a peace treaty with clan T’rintar of the Itreans. The crew of a ship named the Atra has taken our crew and wishes to return us home.”

There was a short pause. “Commander Ramírez. I copy your message. Relaying it to my chain of command.”

There was another short pause as an older male voice responded. “Commander Ramírez, this is Commander Graham of the UHN Vespucci. I have received your message. Please explain.”

“Graham, this is Commander Ramírez. I assume you are the commanding officer of your ship?”

“I am. I lead the guard fleet over Luna base.”

“Good. My ship, the UHN Gabatrix, was assigned to negotiate peace with clan T’rintar of the Itreans. My CO, Commander William, sacrificed himself to stop an enemy Itrean clan vessel from attacking the T’rintar warship named the Atra. The crew of the Gabatrix was moved to the Atra. The T’rintar people wish to return us to Mars and continue the peace negotiations there.”

There was a pause as Ramírez seemed in doubt with what he said.

“Commander Ramírez,” Graham replied. “You are on an Itrean ship?”

“Yes. We fought an Aksren warship. Our crew is safe, and we need to bring them back home.”

“Then why not just contact Mars? Why ask me to have...”

“Graham. I have the T’rintar people onboard that wish to see Earth before going to Mars. It’s part of the negotiation process.”

“Why would they? What ... Ugh ... No ... I am going to pass this along with Mars command. Ramírez, if that’s your true name, I cannot allow any Itrean warship from entering over Luna. I will contact the Martian UHN command and see if we can relay it through the chain. For now, I can’t let the Atra from entering my space. Can you wait?”

“Of course. I will make sure that the T’rintar pass their information to you as well.”

“Roger, stand by Ramírez...”

The channel was on mute as he crossed his arms. He was shaking his head.

“What?” Kane asked.

“I just know that there will be an issue,” he replied. “They will be too skittish. All it takes is one person to get all spooked about something, and then all of them will stop us. We might have to have a ship arranged to pick up the crew from the Atra.”

“No,” Tara’Talar said. “We are honor-bound by Captain William. The peace negotiation must continue. Any attempt to stop us from seeing Itrea will be looked at as an attempt to break the peace process.”

“Adjunct,” Ifra interrupted her. “The humans are scared. Itrea and their most precious planet are in that same system, and our presence will only annoy them. They are afraid of us. We must remain confident that they will allow us in.”

“Plus, we’re only doing our jobs,” Ramírez remarked.

There was a flashing signal from the console as the adjunct patched it in. The communication channel flared back on.

“Commander Ramírez, do you copy?” Graham called out.

“Yes. I’m picking you up.”

“I am going to patch you into UHN Martian High Command. It isn’t my job to let you in or not. If the Atra pops into space, it is my job to protect Luna and Gentren 6.”

“Roger,” Ramírez said with a sigh.

There was another pause as the channel was transmitted from Luna to Mars. They waited for a short while.

“Sorry about all this,” Ramírez said. “Even the UHN has its bureaucracy. If an alien spaceship pops out of the gate array, it will cause the people to get a little jumpy.”

“Even if there are crew members on this ship that need to be returned?” Kane asked.

“Ambassador, this mission was registered as top secret. We have to explain all of this because very few know about it ... at least until the process is complete. They’re trying to ensure that if another ship is lost like what just happened, that the population won’t go into a further panic than it already is. Right now, we are operating on a need-to-know basis.”

“Then what about now?”

“What else? The whole mission has been completely altered. Yes, things are doing well, but now our jobs just got hard. Now we have to convince the Martian commands to even let the T’rintar in.”

“Even with the Captain’s sacrifice?” Ifra asked.

“They haven’t seen it,” Ramírez replied. “Again, we have to...”

Ramírez paused as he saw an audio message indicator. Kane shrugged as he turned around and looked at the exit of the bridge. He knew this was going to take a while.

“What do you mean, no?” Ramírez raged on the intercom.

“Commander Ramírez, we cannot allow the Atra in the Sol System. No peace treaty has been made.”

“Are you fucking serious?”

“Commander, you are talking to an Admiral, let me remind you...”

“I don’t give a shit, sir! Our crew just volunteered for a suicide mission. We have crew ready to be returned home. They just performed a miracle, and my Captain gave his life to ensure the peace process can be maintained. The T’rintar wish to see Earth so they can bring this information back home for their clan to analyze. They have nowhere to continue the peace process. Both ambassadors are with me right now.”

Kane had been waiting for thirty minutes as the arguments were getting worse. It was an arduous task. Everybody kept denying the Atra entry into the Sol System. There was a display screen that had been activated. Ramírez was busy yelling at a man who was older than he was and had a star under his rank.

“Admiral Simmons, this is Ambassador Kane. I serve under the Lee Administration. I volunteered for this mission because we need allies. I’m part of the peace negotiation process. We have crew that needs to be brought home and to allow this process to continue.”

“And how am I supposed to believe that?” Simmons questioned. “How do I know this isn’t some trick? How do I know that you’re just an alien in disguise? I let the Atra into our space, and then you relay all this information to your friends. A fleet will come knocking at our door. I’m sorry, but the answer is no.”