Chapter 29

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty." ~ John F. Kennedy

"You can't do that!" the officer said while playing a game of Magic the Gathering while on watch. "Mitch, you always cheat!"

There were only two officers on watch this night in their small Frigate in high orbit around Planet XJ-521 in the Wolf 359 Star System, the planet where WarpStar had discovered the ancient abandoned city. The Frigate F.W.S. Carl Sagan was tasked with the dull duty of watching over the planet while science teams conduct research on the surface. Their job was an important one, if tedious.

The O.O.D recited the rules, ignoring his duties. "Jake, how many times have I told you? I have a second play action at the end of my turn, so do you!"

"I call bullshit! Show me the rules," Jake started to say just before all hell broke loose and the warning lights interrupted their play session. The screams of the alarms startled both of them, and they knocked the cards all over the place, completely ruining the game they had been playing for hours.

"What in the hell!" the O.O.D said as he jumped to the co-pilot seat of the small Frigate.

Frigates are tiny ships; some people dub them very large Fighters. They are manned by a small crew of only twenty-five people and designed mostly for scouting roles. They do not have much of an armament for combat situations. They’re not as maneuverable as a fighter, but far more maneuverable than a Destroyer or a Cruiser. The bridge is also very small, with only room for four people. Pilot and co-pilot, commanding officer, and tactical officer.

"Holy mother of!" they both nearly spat out as they saw ships one by one jump into the system. The ships ranged in size from Frigates to Dreadnaughts, but they were not of any known design. Before the WarpStar met its fate, no human had seen these ships before. An entire armada was entering the system, and there was nothing the Carl Sagan could do to stop it.

"Hyperdrive is down, and I can't spool up the emergency systems!" the co-pilot shouted out as his companion began maneuvering the ship outside of their range as much as possible.

"We need to get a message out, warn the scientists, and tap into the Hyperbuoy! If we can't jump, we can transmit through the network!" the pilot shouted.

The co-pilot tapped a few buttons and looked to his screen above and to the left of his shoulder. "Central Command, this is the F.W.S. Carl Sagan; we are reporting a considerable unknown alien fleet entering the vicinity of X-ray Juliette five-two-one requesting………………."

Static.

That was all fleet command saw of the emergency broadcast.

In just two weeks, the Alliance ships had finally moved from Orion, and had made their way just a bit closer to Earth. The Joint Chiefs of Staff held a meeting with the president over the F.W.S. Carl Sagan, yet another ship lost to the Alliance. The session did not last long; everyone agreed unanimously that something had to be done. For the first time in Federation history, the entire Navy was recalled to Earth to form an offensive.

Charlene Carr did not have the best time recovering from her accident. Medically speaking, she was in peak health. Dr. Henderson cleared her for duty almost two weeks ago. Char couldn't leave her room. She tried a few times. She was taking her personal Flycatcher out to fly around Florida. It was not the same, however. She wanted to see the stars, fly at unsafe speeds. But every time she thought about leaving Earth again to join the sea of the void, she broke down. She could not bring herself to go back out there. To go back into the void, where she last saw her family. The WarpStar, her crew, and John. She lost all hope, and she lost all control. She had resorted to hiding away from the world, in her room, rotting away the last elements of existence. Wishing she were the one on WarpStar, and John and the crew were at home.

Antonio and a guest opened the door to Charlene’s room and saw the young officer lounging on her window nook, relaxing in bare feet and a nightgown in the middle of the day. “She’s been like that for almost two weeks,” Antonio said. She gazed out the window, watching the birds and various Floridian animals enjoy the land, wearing headphones to drown out the world around her.

“I’ve tried everything; her sister has even taken time off work to be with her. She sits there, day and night, just staring at nothing. Only coming out to grab food and relieve herself on the can.”

“She’s been through a major trauma. Several of them in the same year,” the older man replied to Charlene’s father, not taking his eyes off the young woman.

“Can you help her?” Amelia butted in, sneaking up on them both and nearly startling her husband, but all he did was flinch.

“Maybe, just depends on how far down the rabbit hole she is.”

Amelia and Antonio looked at each other, missing the man’s ancient pop culture reference. “Just leave me with her for a while. I’ll do what I can.”

The Carr family nodded in near-perfect unison, sadness in their eyes with a growing concern for their youngest daughter. Once the strongest member of the family, Charlene was now broken, and lost to anyone. They left her with the one man who could possibly help her, their last hope to get their daughter back.

“Go away,” Charlene said, just softly enough for the guest to hear as he knocked on the door, never taking her attention from the birds just outside her window. “I said leave. I don’t feel well,” she replied again to the continued knocking, not paying attention to the intruder. “God damnit go the fuc……” she began to say as she turned her head in anger and saw who it was standing at the door, interrupting her time watching mother nature. “Sarge. What are you doing here?” She got up to greet her old flight instructor.

“It’s just Jake now. I’m retired,” Staff Sergeant Jacob Parvenski replied with a smile on his face, happy to see his old student recognize an old face after many years had passed since he last taught her. “May I?” he pointed to her bed, the only place he could sit down.

“Please,” she replied, flustered, giving him permission to sit on an intimate piece of furniture in her space. “I’m sorry, I’m not dressed properly. I’m out of uniform.”

“Don’t worry, young one. I’m not here on official business. Please, join me.” He motioned for her to sit down on the bed next to him, hoping she would not read too deeply into the situation and misunderstand things.

Charlene sat on the bed without hesitation or embarrassment, facing the older man and crossing her legs as she got comfortable next to him. “How can I help you?” she asked, still trying to figure out why a relic from her past decided to stop by.

“You know your mom and dad are worried about you. They love you very much.”

“I know, but they don’t need to. I’m fine.”

“It doesn’t look that way to me.”

He looked over towards her desk on the opposite side of the room, where an actual paper letter lay with the Navy Silver Cross and promotion chevrons sitting on top of it. Still in their display cases, lacking the uniform they were intended to be pinned on. “You know, your mom and dad did not ask me to come here.” He continued as Char looked confused, unable to understand who else could have requested her mentor to show up. “Admiral Briggs has an amazing opportunity for you onboard the Enterprise. Why are you not taking it?”

Charlene looked down at her feet, grabbing her right foot and starting to fidget with her toes, unable to maintain eye contact with Jake. “I don’t deserve it. I should be dishonorably discharged.”

“Don’t say that, young one.” He placed his hand on her shoulder. “Don’t ever say that. You deserve that position more than anyone I know or have known.”

Charlene brushed his hand away while looking back up, still fidgeting with her toes, her face red and tears flowing down her cheeks. “How? When I got three hundred people killed, after I screwed up and almost got them all killed earlier?”

“Char, how is that your fault?” asked the old man, calling her by the nickname only a select few were allowed to use. He was among one of the first who earned that right.

“I couldn’t save them,” she said while looking back down, away from his face, unable to control the flow of tears now. “I tried everything. I couldn’t outmaneuver them. I failed them.”

“The lost lives of the WarpStar were not your fault. Those alien sons of bitches killed your crew. There was nothing you could have done.” This time he forced both his hands on her shoulders, resisting her attempts to shrug them off. “And you know what else you actually did?” he said forcefully, which grabbed her attention. Her tears stopped flowing briefly as curiosity came over her. Her eyes locked on his again as she stopped playing with her toes and was fully committed to finding out how he would end that statement.

“What did I do?”

“You saved everyone in Sol. By risking your life, in a most certain suicide run, you got here and warned us. You warned the Federation, hell, you even warned the God damned Russians for whatever that’s worth. You put the war aside, you put your loyalty to the Federation aside, and you warned every damn human in the system. Friend or foe, you saved us all. That right there makes you a god damn hero!”

She looked down again, but this time with a smile on her face as Jake continued. “You know, Commander of Air Group Enterprise is one hell of a prestigious position.” He removed his hands from her shoulders. “Hell, I never even had an opportunity like that. Never even was offered Command of any air group on any posting.”

“Really? I thought you had. You were the best flight instructor I ever had.”

“No,” he laughed as he began to remember his past. “Hell, the Jupiter incident was the height of my career.”

“That was one hell of a stunt you pulled off there. I don’t even know if I could have pulled that off.”

“Oh, hell, young one, you could have flown circles around me.”

“It doesn’t matter now. He’s gone, the Impossible Duo is dead, I am no longer anything special.” She lapsed back into her depression, looked back down and resumed toying with her toes, switching her foot to her left one now.

“Do you know why you are as good as you are, Char?” She just shook her head. “It’s because of that boy, John.” He grabbed her attention again as she caught his gaze once more.

“How so?”

“You were one hell of a pilot when you walked into my classroom, you know. I knew right away you would be among the best. But at the time, John held that title. He only held it for two years because you were not around. The moment you walked in those doors for the first time was the moment he lost that title. No one knew it.”

He attempted to remember his past to the best of his abilities. His one hundred and fifteen-year-old mind was beginning to show the signs of failure. “You two butted heads so horribly back then. I do believe you both wanted to murder each other.” Charlene chuckled and blushed at the same time, remembering the first moment she met John. She instantly hated the man who held the title of best pilot in the fleet, wanting that title for herself, but hating herself for her conflicting feelings. She felt the love for the man the first moment she set her eyes upon him, but never admitted to it or gave in. She made it a personal mission to knock his arrogant ass off the throne.

“It was that drive you had to beat him. Which you did, easily on your first challenge.”

Charlene’s smile grew as she remembered how she so easily beat him the first time. Her victory increased his anger towards her and intensified the rivalry between the two. “Every time he tried to take that throne back from you, he failed, and you succeeded. You know why?”

She just shook her head as she watched as the older man reminisced about the past. “Because you had to adapt. Every time he challenged you, he changed tactics. That man is a tactical genius, and I swear there were a few times I would have bet good money on him. But you countered him, every single time. You may not have been able to beat his tactics, but you still beat him in pure skill. He was one hell of a pilot, there is no doubt, but you just naturally outmatched him at every turn.”

He paused for a brief time. “Most pilots are more than arrogant. They are stubborn. I know I was. Pilots don’t know how to adapt; they do not know how to change. The challenges you two kept throwing at each other, forcing you both to adapt and change, made you who you are today. And it is that ability that you kept all these years that gave you that star, and those chevrons.” He looked towards her desk at her Lieutenant Commander rank chevrons and the Navy silver cross.

She smiled at him as he stood up, thankful for the chat and the reliving of fond memories. “Now, cadet. Get your ass up and stand at attention to a senior officer!” he nearly shouted, surprising her and sparking a look of confusion on her face. He was not a senior officer at all. Even if he was not retired, he held the rank of staff sargent, a senior enlisted rank. However, she was technically a lieutenant commander, even if she had not gone through her promotion ceremony yet. Even at her current technical rank of lieutenant, she was a full-fledged officer, several grades higher than he was.

“But…” she tried to say but was interrupted by her former flight instructor.

“Did I fucking stutter, cadet?” The old man was going into full drill instructor mode, hoping to motivate his former pupil. “Get your ass up and stand at attention. I want those ugly ass feet on the floor now, cadet!"

He was purposely calling her a 'cadet’ in an attempt to put her down before building her back up.

Something inside Charlene snapped. She had major respect for this man, and she complied. She jumped off her bed and stood at full attention in front of him. Her nightgown opened up some and showed more than she desired, but not too much. Her sports bra showed in full, as her dress was not designed for military attention. None of them cared about her exposure, as both of them were in full military training attitude. “Sir!” she said while holding a near perfect salute.

“Now, tell me, who the fuck do you think you are, soldier!” He increased his volume with each word, and took a few steps closer to her, staring her down with intense eyes.

“Sir, I’m a Navy Pilot, sir!” she continued to hold her salute as her nightgown fell entirely to the floor, exposing her undergarments. Usually that would be embarrassing, but Char paid no attention.

“Bullshit!” he almost screamed at her, but she held her salute and composure and stood at perfect attention. Jake attempted to get her going by using the friendly rivalry between the branches of the military, a feud as old as the Marine Corps itself back in Ancient Earth. “I saw a fucking Marine when I walked in here. And I think I see a fucking Marine right now. Are you a fucking Marine, soldier?”

“Sir, I don’t smell like a garbage pit, sir!!”

The old man got intimately close, putting his nose under the right armpit she exposed with her salute. “You do smell like a fucking Marine!” he added, “You sure as hell acted like a fucking moping whiny bitch ass Marine, soldier. I think you are a Marine. I’m calling Major Donkey Dick right now. He’s going to put you with the pussy platoon, where you can share your feelings with the rest of the fucking Marines.”

He got right into her face now. He was shouting his insults while his nose almost touched hers.

“Sir, I’m not a Marine, sir.”

“Then what the fuck are you, soldier?”

“Sir, I’m a pilot, sir.”

“I can’t hear you, Marine.”

“Sir, I’m a pilot, sir!” Her hand and arm began to ache from her salute, but she refused to give up.

“I can’t fucking hear you, you quiet ass Marine!” The old man was shockingly good at yelling, with a loud voice that the entire house could hear. As his nose was touching hers, she could feel the spit from his mouth as he shouted at her.

“Sir, I’m a pilot, sir!!!” she shouted at the top of her lungs, louder than she had ever shouted in her life. A smile beamed from ear to ear on her face.

The old man held a smile broader than hers as he backed away from her and gave her a salute back. “That’s right, you are.” He said in a calm, lower voice. “You are a pilot. Go in that sky and kick some alien ass. Sir!”

He ended by calling her the superior, finally acknowledging that she held the higher rank, and ending his game.

The next day, Charlene, with full courage and self-confidence, packed her bags and headed to her new life. A posting on the top ship for fighter pilots in the Navy, and she was truly excited to finally be among the elite pilots. Although she was already considered to be the best pilot the Navy has to offer, a few things always held her back from joining Alpha Squad, the elite of the elite. The first was always apparent to anyone who thought about it.

John Henderson, widely regarded as the second-best Pilot in the Navy, vastly outshined by Charlene herself. Those two were the Impossible Duo, they never lost an engagement. To her, and to a select few who knew her well, the real reason was much more complicated. John was the one. The only one for her; she never loved anyone like she loved John. But Navy regulations prevented her from dating a superior officer. He was always ahead of her in rank, but she never let that stop her from hoping that one day something would change, and she would get to spend her life truly with him.

The second reason she never joined Alpha Squad was simply because she was in the prototype pilot program, which was why she could pilot the WarpStar. She had her choice of postings, and she chose to serve on ships where she would be able to test out the newest and the best ships the Federation had to offer. When she heard about the WarpStar, she knew she had to pilot her entirely even though John would be the commanding officer.

That was all over now. WarpStar and her crew, along with John, were lost in action. She had no real reason now to stick around with her past. She could have any posting she wanted. Now she was called to the Enterprise, the largest group of fighters on a single ship. Her orders clearly stated she was assigned to Alpha Squad, the top-tier fighters of the Federation. What did come as a total shock was her official title, Commander of Air Group Alpha. She was finally given an actual command posting. She'd already gone through all the proper command training required. She'd passed all the qualifications. The only reason she was not in a command position was she opted to be the pilot on WarpStar. The only command position she was able to have at that point was Commander of Air Group WarpStar, which, to be honest, didn't mean anything. WarpStar only had three squads of fighters. A total of fifteen fighters that were never deployed. And those pilots were secondary. They were mostly engineers and various other staff, filling other major roles onboard the Destroyer, who had some minor flight training if the fighters were actually needed in combat. The Enterprise staffed actual pilots, people who trained for nothing else but flying.

Commander of Air Group Alpha, or C.A.G. Alpha for short, was a lot more responsibility, and she was ready for it. That title put her in direct command of the 500 fighters assigned to the Enterprise. This was more people than even John had commanded. At most, John was in command of about 300 when he was executive officer onboard the Avenger and 125 under him on WarpStar. Five hundred souls to be responsible for can be a bit overwhelming. But she could do it, and this is what she always wanted and trained for.

Charlene was browsing the ship and flight directory in the hangar of the Norfolk Orbital Drydock, trying to find her assigned fighter, when she stumbled across something unsettling: X-401, labeled 'Betsy,' set to be decommissioned. A bit of rage filled the lieutenant. She would not allow them to rip apart the ship that had saved her life. She would not let them kill the one last thing that she had of John's.

Charlene's Scottish heritage sometimes overtakes her calm military training. If left unchecked, her Scottish temper would scare even the toughest of military men. This was a time where her inner rage mixed with her Italian cunning to create an evil pair. It took her only half an hour to convince the Quartermaster not to scrap the fighter. It was more than an X-401 Fighter to her, more than a Prototype Artificial Intelligence. It was the only tie she had to John. It was her savior. The A.I. had knowingly sacrificed itself to save her life.

Betsy was in relatively good shape, considering. Before climbing into the fighter, she got a good look around it. She was taking in every crease and crevice, every scratch and dent, and flaw in the ship's design. This hunk of metal not only kept her alive, but brought her back home to her family. Because of this amazing little ship, and the brain that her late John had created, she was able to see her mother and father again. She would come to cherish this fighter, and it would become her second home. No one would be allowed to work on it without her express permission. The fighter known as Betsy would become her most prized possession.