Chapter 2

"Ah here we go, Quel, Commander Rick. Born on... wait a minute it doesn't say where he was born. In fact all the computer has on him is he career in ESSA. Well that doesn't make any sense. I can't figure it out?" "Has it been deleted?" "No, no deletion, no sign erase or re-writing, no nothing. It's almost like he was never born," she paused for a moment then said looking at Rick's picture, "What are you?" "Well it looks like we have some work to do on this 'Rick' character." And that was that from that moment on Dianna and Maximus would never trust Rick again (well almost never).

Tranceya Montaya was busy bustling around engineering trying to keep both solar flare generators in sync so they could maintain a higher speed. Plus she was making sure all the systems weren't taking a negative effect on the double generators begin active. She and her crew had been working overtime to get there early. She was determined to prove she could get things done faster with just as much efficacy as going slowly. She was sure she could get the Solar Flares up to warp nine point nine and keep them there until they got to the designated coordinates. She had even boosted the shield generators to compensate for the abnormal speed. It was 2300 hours by the time she had finished all the modifications. Her work force told her that they could handle engineering for a while and would call her if there was an emergency but until then she should get some rest and relaxation.

It was almost time for the jump and everyone was psyched and ready to go explore the true unknown. The ambassadors and the entire bridge crew was there waiting for them to reach the coordinates. "All right Lieutenant full stop." "Yes ma'am. Full stop." "Engage the galactic portal... NOW!" and they were off headed for the unknown. It took around a minute and a half to reach the next galaxy but they did it and they were IN the galaxy not outside the galaxies edge like so many other ships had ventured. "Start continues recording scan." Ordered ambassador Rison. "Captain... heading?" asked Lieutenant Maximus Cortss. She thought for a moment and then a grin came over her face and she said "Second star to the right, Lieutenant, and straight on tell morning." The Lieutenant smiled and put in the coordinates with a smile and they were off. It was going to take them about four days with solar flares at top speed to get to that star system.

After they were off Ambassador Thompson came up to Kess and said, "what was all that about? When you said... second star on the right and straight on tell morning everyone felt joy and they wanted to laugh, it even reminded them of their childhood. Why?" kess took a pad out from beside her chair, pressed a few buttons, gave it to him and said, "Well sir I suggest you read up on the fairy tale of Peter Pan." As she said that she giggled and looked to Rick then said, "Commander you have the bridge. I'll be in my quarters." He nodded in recognition. And she left the bridge. "So ambassador are you going to read that or stare at it like an idiot?" "I am going to read it just as soon as I get the time," he lied; the ambassador would never read a children's story.

Kess was on her way to her quarters to organize her room and get settled in. She had been aboard for a few days now and still hadn't found the time to clean. "You don't have to clean Kess we have done it for you." Sharak whispered "what?! You cleaned our room?! That's wonderful thank you so, so much." "You're welcome Kess. We were board so we thought we would help you out." Answered Rou. When she entered the room it was spotless and beautiful. There was a perch on the table for Sharak and a big beanbag on the floor for Rou. The place was gorgeous. "Are you two hungry?" "Yes, I suppose we are. With all this cleaning we forgot to eat." Sharak responded with dignity. Kess walked over to the Synthizer and ordered the following: a large thick juicy raw t-bone stake, raw salmon, and a glass of champagne. She brought the meals to Rou and Sharak, then sat down on the couch took out a pad and started working on some new creatures for her Simulator program. Sharak and Rou thanked her for the food and enjoyed it immensely.

On another part of the ship Rick Quel was headed towards the Simulator to visit Hagarth and his minis. Kess had told him that not only the mini dragons needed oiling but so did the dragons so they wouldn't get itchy skin. He figured he could do that now since it would take them four days to meet up with that solar system. He had been neglecting his new found pets over the last two days and figured he would spend some time to with them to make up for it. When he got to the Simulator he realized that it was still running and the screen said it had been running since they turned it on a few days ago. He and Kess must have left it on by accident which means everything was running along how Kess had programmed it to. He rushed in realizing that he hadn't fed the mini dragons for days and since it had been on it meant that they were probably starving. When he entered he called out in his head for his 'pets' they, to his surprise, answered with a joyful tune. "We are here Rick. We are safe. Hagarth and Faith took care of us. They told us that you had a lot of work to do and would be back as soon as possible. Hagarth and Faith fed us and taught us. We still love you Rick. We are yours. You accepted us Rick. We will never leave you Rick." Stated Sara, (Rick's golden queen.) Rick sighed in relief and started towards them. On his way he spoke, "I would like to thank you Hagarth you have done a lot. You wouldn't mind telling Faith thank you for me too. Will you?" "Not at all Rick," he paused "she says you're welcome and forgives you for not tending to me and your mini dragons. We know you have an important job and you need to keep it. Will you put some oil on us our backs itch."

In another section of the ship Dianna and Maximus were working on cracking the mystery of Rick Quel, so far they had found out that he was not human but he was a full bred Sapacian born on the island Volton. And that was all they had done all the hacking and researching and tracking they could possibly do without anyone finding out. They had decided to stop for a while and work on another project that had fell into their laps... the captain's birthday party! She was turning 28 tomorrow and hadn't even given the slightest notion of it. They had sent invitations to the entire crew and were told to meet in Simulator 15 tomorrow at 1400 hours. They had made it so that Maximus would ask her to meet him in Simulator 15 at 1430 hours and he would do anything and everything to convince her to come. Everyone had agreed to come and to keep quiet about it near the captain and ambassadors.

The next morning at around 0600 hours Kess Cortezz was awaked by Rou and Sharak. "What's going on? What time is it?" "It's just about 0600 hours Kess but we wanted to give you your birthday presents early." Rou said respectfully. "You two remembered my birthday! Well thank you so much" she petted them both in an affectionate way. Rou dropped his gift from him in her lap and replied, "Open it, tell me what you think." She unwrapped carefully and then opened the box and a huge smile came over her face and she exclaimed, "He's wonderful!! Where and when ever did you get him?" "I got him before we left Earth. And have been taking care of him and saving him for your birthday. His name is Jack" "He is so cute." What Kess had received was a very, very young ferret. She had always liked ferrets and she received one for her birthday from her pet. After a few minutes of petting and stroking the creature Sharak brought her his present. As Kess opened it Jack crawled up next to Rou and fell asleep between his front paws. Kess opened it in joy lifted it up and said "oh Sharak she's beautiful." "Kess she is called Jill. We found them together abandoned and we figured that you would be more then willing to take care of them." "Well thank you both so much for the gifts, there wonderful." "You're welcome Kess." They recited as a pair.

Meanwhile in Simulator 15 the crew was busy setting up for Kess' party. Maximus had created a program with trees and birds and flowers. With a large soft grassy area near a long river that flowed gently by. There was a big rectangular table where everyone was going to sit. They had made sure that Kess was at one of the heads of the table. Everything was going according to schedule. As 1400 hours approached everyone started to get nervous and rushing about making sure everything was perfect and ready for Kess' party. By the time they were done 1430 hours was on top of them and they were finally ready and made sure everything was looking terrific. Maximus decided by the time he convinced Kess to come and the time to get down to the Simulator they would be ready for her.

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP, "come in." called Kess as she heard the door being disturbed. "Kess, I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday and maybe have you join me on the Simulator for your present. So will you join me?" she pondered for a few moments then replied, "Alright, I'll come with you." And they headed off. Kess couldn't figure out what Maximus had in mind for her birthday. She walked calmly and curiously with him. When they came to the Simulator he asked her, "Trust me Kess, now cover your eyes." And she did what he asked. He took her had and moved her into the Simulator instructing her not to open her eyes until he said.

It didn't take long to get from the door of the Simulator to where the party was. He stopped her right before the table with the cake and the presents. He motioned to the others and told Kess to open her eyes, when she did everyone yelled, "SURPRISE!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY KESS." She was shocked, she replied with joy "this is wonderful, thank you all so very much." Kess received many gifts from her crew, She got books, simulator programs, stuffed animals (she loved stuffed animals just about as much as the real ones), and some pictures. Kess loved it all. But she wondered where Maximus had gone he must have left shortly before she finished opening presents.

Right before she began to cut the cake she felt someone's presents behind her. She couldn't tell who but she knew some one was there. All the sudden she let out a blood curdling scream. And dropped to her knees, as she dropped the dagger that stabbed her was pulled out. She turned around to see Maximus standing over her and with his deep voice said, "Happy Birthday Kess." Rick rushed to her side and said he would help her to sick bay. But she declined, she stood up turned her back to Rick, looked at Maximus and stated, "Thank you Maximus, but when did you get infected?" "I was infected about six months ago. I was in a battle with one of them when he drew a knife and stabbed my arm. It was a very strange yet refreshing experience." They hugged, she turned around saw Rick in shock, and "Captain how did you do that, how did you heal your self like that?" "Maximus has many secrets, one of them is that he was infected by a Kreel and then made my birthday present the powers of a Kreel." he nodded in his understanding. The crew was all relieved although a little confused. But they were just thrilled that their captain was still alive. After the cake and about two hours of fun everyone went back to their quarters to rest off the effects of non-synthesized wine.

The next morning Kess was on the bridge with a head ache along with most of the crew. The doctor gave them all a cure for the hangover but the headache they would have to strive through. The ambassadors did not attend the party nor did they even know about the party. They did not really care either. Ambassador Rison stomped on to the bridge, in a very bad mood. "ALRIGHT I WANT ANSWERS KESS, TELL ME WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON. HALF THE CREW HAS HEADACHES AND KEEP TALKING ABOUT YOUR STRANGE AND REMARKABLE RECOVERY OF GETTING STABBED!" he looked over at Kess, who wasn't listing to a word he said, but instead was clutching her head along with the bridge crew, "NOW WHAT THE HELL IS THE MATTER WITH YOU? YOU'RE NOT ONLY A SENIOR OFFICER BUT ALSO COMMANDER OF THIS VESSEL YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO SET A GOOD EXAMPLE FOR THE REST OF THE CREW." "Would you please stop yelling!" "I'll stop yelling as soon as you tell me what is going on." "Alright I'll tell you. Yesterday was my birthday the crew had set up a party we had a wonderful time. We had a lot of non synthesized wine. And I got a very nice present from some one who had been infected by a Kreel. He stabbed me and gave me the power of a Kreel. And that is what is going on, so calm down ambassador there's nothing to worry about." "Are you sure you've been infected?" he asked with fear in his voice. Kess stared at him in a strange way then said, "of course I am sure but don't worry," and she began to quote a very famous but misused line, "I will only use my powers for good not evil and I will do no harm. I will protect the innocent and destroy the guilty." When she finished her and the crew started to laugh, the ambassador, of course, had no idea what they were laughing about. He groaned and trampled off the bridge in confusion.

Tomorrow they would reach the system and but until then the crew had things to do. Not only get things ready for their first encounter but also some personal things, such as finding out the truth of Rick Quel then exposing him, visiting pets on the Simulator. Finish unpacking their belongings, and just little odds and ends around the ship.

Kess had decided to go to the Simulator and visit her friends and play with all her pets. She had decided to introduce Jack and Jill to her dragon and mini dragons. When Rick left the program he didn't turn it off for it wouldn't be vary fair to the dragons. When she entered a Pegasus was waiting for her, "Please miss would you ride on my back you will get to your destination so much faster." Kess looked at Rou and Sharak and Rou said, "Go with her Kess I want to run. Go have fun I will meet you there." "Alright if you're sure. Sharak you will fly with us?" "Of course." And at that they were all off headed towards a grove about two miles from the entrance. Jack and Jill were sleeping soundly in a bag that hung from Kess' shoulder. When they landed Kess slid of gracefully, thanked the Pegasus and headed off towards the grove.

As Kess approached she could see the shine of the dragons and mini dragon's skin. Over the past few days she hasn't been there they had grown a lot. The dragons had actually grown much faster then she had expected, she had raised their metabolism so they would be ride able sooner, she did not want to wait two whole years to ride Faith. They were all basking in the sun enjoying the early days swim. They heard her approach and a few of them roused. But a few slept soundly in the peaceful sun. "Kess your back! I am glad. I wish you a happy birthday. Come. Relax in the sun with us." Cried Faith. "Alright I'll come but I think I'll work on the design for a Village or maybe even a City." "Yes that would be nice" said Faith... First City." Kess exclaimed with great pleasure in creating a name for the first City. Faith lied back down then Kess came up and sat next to Faith's head and laid her own head on Faith's neck.

On the bridge Commander Rick Quel was watching the scanner when something faded in and then faded out but only for a few brief seconds. He ordered Maximus scan the area. When the data came back they found extremely high levels of antimatter. Enough antimatter to be a ship with a capacity to handle one hundred and fifty personal. "Lieutenant Munques hail that ship." "No response sir." "Keep trying." He then tapped his comm badge, "Captain Cortezz to the bridge." "On my way." She answered sorrowfully; she was quite enjoying herself on the Simulator.

She entered the bridge and said, "what is it commander?" "We have a ship out their ma'am. It's got an antimatter containment field in place. The ship should be about large enough to fit one hundred and fifty people. But they are not answering our hails." "Did you send out a probe?" "Not yet, Ensign send out a type two probe." "Aye, Aye sir," moments later, "sir we are getting the ships telemetry back from the probe. It's located the ships cloaking device." "Aim the small guns at the cloaking device and fire." Kess ordered. "Firing small guns. Direct hit. Their cloak is down." The ensign responded. "Captain the ship is now hailing us." "On screen Lieutenant," the Lieutenant did what she was asked and then an odd looking face came on the screen. "I am Captain Kess Cortezz of the UAN Starship Valkerie. We are explorers. Why did you not answer our hails?" "We were concerned that you might be hostile. Your ship is huge and could easily take us out. But if you wanted to do that you had the chance. My conclusion is that you are peaceful beings and will not do us any harm. I would like to speak with you in person. May I join you on your ship?" "Of course. Our shuttle bay is awaiting you." The shuttle bay was opened because the initial scans showed that they did not have a teleporter.

"Ambassador here is your chance to show your reason for being on the Valkerie. We have some guests coming aboard. They will be in shuttle bay three." Kess spoke. "Were on our way captain." It took everyone around ten minutes to assemble in the shuttle bay. When the 'aliens' arrived Kess was in front, Rick was to the left of her, Ambassador Rison was to her right and Ambassador Thompson was behind her with an active scanner. The 'aliens' came off the ship and came towards Kess. "Ah captain Cortezz it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Captain Zorkon. This is commander Hoshon and this is my communications officer Arinia." "It is a pleasure to have you all on board. This is Commander Rick Quel, Ambassador Thompson and Ambassador Rison." she paused for a moment and her eyes got a little bigger. First she took one of her two tails, wrapped it around Ambassador Thompson's hands then took her other tail and ripped the scanner out of his hands. She then turned around and said in an extremely angry and irritated tone, "What in the Hell do you think your doing?!?!" "I got no telepathic reading form them I was making sure they were real." "You will leave this deck immediately or I will have you REMOVED." "Fine but be sure that this incident will be reported to the UAN." And at that he stomped out of the shuttle bay. "I am so very sorry about that captain Zorkon." "Its okay my crew does things that get on my nerves as well. Don't worry its not you." "Thanks for your council. If you will follow me I will show you around my ship." "Thank you Captain Cortezz" "Please call me Kess all these formalities are so confusing." "Thank you Kess" he made sure he emphasized Kess' name.