Admiral Johnson had a headache again. He thought about this one and all the others preceding this one. Leo knew there wasn't anything organically wrong with him since the bots did an excellent job of keeping him healthy. It was a tension headache. The kind that usually had somebody's name on it. This time, Captain Schmidt won the prize. It had been over four years since the Atlantis and Wanderer left. Captain Metcalfe warned him about his tendencies. He may not have been planning this from the start, but he sure had been pushing himself around now! Slowly, there had been complaints about the Te'Hat being underfoot. There had also been more talk about ignoring the Te'Hat culture here and start developing this planet wholesale. He knew Schmidt was behind the murmuring. He got ready to head to the council meeting.

Captain Schmidt caught Leo as he left his office. "Admiral, may I have a moment of your time?" Schmidt! Just the thing for my headache. Leo thought sarcastically.

"I'm heading to the meeting. You can walk with me." They started off down the walkways to their destination.

"I appreciate it, thank you. I just wanted to make sure we are on the same side on some of the issues I know will be brought up again at the meeting."

The Admiral's head was throbbing again. "There is no side. There is the mission of humanity which has been placed before us. There is not a lot of latitude there."

"I know. You have stated this position in various ways for the last few years. Surely you have to know the Valiant did not sign up with the Consortium and their plans."

"You have stated that position in various ways for the last few years. You also agreed by coming with us that you take Captain Metcalfe's judgment and the judgment of the Council in deciding when and where we make our permanent home."

"I understand what had been agreed upon when we began traveling with the Atlantis. But we may never find another planet which is livable. We can make a go of it here."

"What about the Te'Hat?" The Admiral was tired of the circular arguments.

"The Te'Hat live underground. So, they can live anywhere. We have to stick to the more temperate zones."

"And if the Te'Hat doesn't want to move?"

"Oh, I am sure we could convince them to move. We would make it worth their while."

"Trinkets to the natives? Where have I heard this one before?"

"Well, maybe not trinkets, but we can build them anything."

"What if the natives don't want what you're offering?"

"Look, we can play the 'what if' game all day long. There is a growing concern over this. We need to do something!"

"Now, who would spread such a concern? The captains are supposed to be enforcers of council decisions. Are you having trouble with your people? Perhaps I can help." Leo knew Schmidt had been the one spreading the concern and he found it harder to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. Fortunately, they had arrived at their destination.

"We will talk about this again, Admiral," Captain Schmidt said with a little too much respect rubbed off.

They walked in and took their seats. Captain Schmidt noticed Melon in attendance. "I didn't know this Te'Hat was now on the council."

Chairman Rocha spoke from across the table, "Representative Melon is not on the council. He is here as an observer to our meetings. Now, if we are done taking roll call, we will begin the meeting."

Admiral Johnson smiled to himself for dropping the suggestion to Melon and the Chairman knowing Schmidt had been building up to something. He wanted it to be harder on him with Melon present to hear what he says.

Izzy stood and addressed the table, "I think we will start with Admiral Johnson today. Admiral, you have the floor."

"Excuse me, Madame Chairman," Captain Schmidt stood at the same time as the admiral. "I believe there are more pressing things which need attention."

Isabell Rocha did not mind the occasional interruption when it was important. She knew what she was likely to hear and did not appreciate trying to derail and take over the meeting. "Captain Schmidt, if there is a reason to believe lives hang in the balance in the next couple of hours, I encourage you to excuse yourself to tend to it. However, if lives do not immediately hang in the balance, then please wait for your turn to address the floor."

"My apologies," Gunter acquiesced. "I meant no disrespect." He sat down slightly less agitated than a moment before.

"Of course," Izzy said politely. "Admiral, continue, please."

"Thank you, Madame Chairman," Leo graciously acknowledged. "I will summarize the happenings of this system and let the department heads expand on the details. Mining on the moons is going strong and continue to get us what we need. There have been a couple of recent discoveries I will let Construction and Resources section expand on. Planet-side, the colonists and science crews are also doing well. They have adapted the best to the increased gravity. Some can work without the exoskeleton entirely. In space, workers and shuttle pilots well acquainted with the quirks of this system, continue to do their jobs with little incidents.

And although things are going well with our adaptation to this planet, there are troubling matters which concern me about the Te'Hat and our relationship with them. Currently, our relationship with Melon and the Sce'Rood is good. We assume this extends to the whole Te'Hat on this planet. This could be a false assumption. Also, I hear more and more dissent concerning our role here and by extension the Te'Hat. This kind of talk has been limited to mostly the Valiant crew but has been growing. We cannot risk poisoning our relationship with the Te'Hat with any more of this distraction from the mission."

"Madame Chairman," Melon telepathically spoke to Izzy. To everyone else, they heard clicks and whistles since Melon could only communicate this way with only one other at a time. The Te'Hat could project out to more than one mind at a time, but it took a lot of energy. It had been one of the reasons the Te'Hat had not given up speech entirely. Izzy held her hand up to stop the Admiral from further speech. "I too have overheard a few humans communicating about plans for this world that do not include the Te'Hat," Izzy repeated this for the group.

"I knew it!" Captain Schmidt pointed accusingly at Melon. "He has been eavesdropping on our thoughts! This cannot be tolerated!"

"Human thoughts are rather loud. It is hard to ignore sometimes," Melon communicated to Izzy.

"Alice," Izzy called.

"Yes, Chairman Rocha," Alice replied. Alice had left a module of herself which connected to the Intrepid A.I. system.

"Could you please continue with the translations beginning with Melon's last statement to me so there are no implications of deception?"

"Certainly, Chairman Rocha. The representative of the Sce'Rood clan had said: 'human thoughts are rather loud. It is hard to ignore sometimes'."

"It is not necessary to translate for me. I have a direct connection to Alice and can get the translation quicker than you," Gunter touted.

Alice corrected, "While your statement is technically correct, the difference is only 0.002 seconds. An irrelevant time difference for humans. It was not necessary for Chairman Rocha to translate since I can translate the language in real-time and pipe it to the implants in all the board members."

"I had not thought about that. Thank you, Alice, please do so from this point forward."

"You are welcome and acknowledged."

"Can we get back to the problem?" Gunter was getting agitated.

"You mean the problem of you repeatedly interrupting the meeting?" Izzy said pointedly.

"I mean the problem of our differing consensus of the mission," Gunter replied.

"Well, it is up to the Admiral. You see, he still has the floor. If he is finished, we can move on to other topics." Izzy turned back to the Admiral. "Is there anything you wish to bring up?"

"No, Madame Chairman. I think we are well on our way to another topic. I relinquish the floor."

"Thank you, Admiral Johnson." Izzy thought of needling Captain Schmidt further by choosing another department. Maybe, make his turn last. That would show him who runs the meetings. Pettiness was never a good ingredient in a civilization. "Captain Schmidt, you have the floor now. What is on your mind?"

"Well, I will just get to the point," Gunter began. "The Valiant is breaking from the group. We wish to settle here. We have all talked it over, and this is our consensus. As the spokesperson for the Valiant, I must put a voice to their wishes."

At that moment, Captain Williams from the Intrepid asked permission to enter his private apartment. Gunter let him in.

"Are you crazy Gunter! Look we have had many discussions in and around this subject. I think I know where you stand on things by now. But to split from the group?"

Gunter shook his head, "David, you are a good friend, but you are stupid if you think there is another world out there which can remotely support life for humans. I have scoured the data more than any human can, and I have very little confidence in hitting the lottery twice."

"We have researched the three or four targets before leaving. They all look promising, Gunter," David reminded him.

"We can talk until our brains quit working about how promising a planet is, but the truth of the matter is we really won't know for sure until we get there. We weren't sure of Searth until we did thorough research on the planet. Don't you understand? We can get beautiful pictures of a place, but there are no guarantees the new world won't kill us the moment we set up shop. We have done the research on Searth. Aside from the stronger gravity, it is more than sufficient for our needs. A bird in the hand, David."

"And you are going to brush aside the Te'Hat if they get in the way. Is that about it?"

"I can't predict the future that well," Gunter said. "The survival of humans comes first. I know at least that much."

"This is the warning Captain Metcalfe gave all of us. I don't have to remind you he predicted this very thing would happen if we didn't start changing our ways. We were on a destructive path before we knew of the neutron star. We just can't take that baggage with us!"

"I'm sorry David, we are never going to agree on this. You can leave now."

"I'm sorry too, Gunter." He turned and left.

The discussion took about a second of real-time. David said out loud for the council to hear, "This is the very thing Captain Metcalfe warned us about. We must stay the course. We must respect the indigenous life here!" Everyone else around the table murmured to each other.

"Let us quiet down so we may have a discussion," Izzy reminded the group. The table chatter died down. "Gunter," she started. "I know this may be hard for you to believe, but there is more at stake here than human survival."

"Remind me," he said.

"We have the unique opportunity in our species history to make changes in our behavior. It is always hard to break bad habits. It's never going to be easy for us. However, we cannot subject another species to our vulgar past simply for the sake of survival. If this place were devoid of intelligent life, we would not be having this discussion. The Te'Hat was here first. Remember the American Indians of Earth. Let us not make those mistakes again."

"We have every intention of respecting the Te'Hat culture. I cannot predict what will happen."

"Oh, I think you can," Izzy countered. "Alice."

"Yes, Chairman Rocha."

"Given what you have heard, what is your prediction of the outcome of the Valiant splitting from the group?"

"If the conflict between the two factions resulted in the Valiant controlling the planet, there is a seventy-seven percent chance there will be ill will toward the Te'Hat. However, this would only carry on until the Atlantis returns. There is a ninety-six percent chance Atlantis will return. There is a one hundred percent chance Captain Metcalfe will disagree with Captain Schmidt and another conflict will ensue. There is a ninety-eight percent chance Captain Metcalfe will resolve the dispute. However, there is a high likelihood many Te'Hat will be harmed in the process."

Izzy looked at Gunter. "Didn't figure the Atlantis in your equation, did you?"

"Oh, I am counting on it, actually," Gunter was grinning now.

"I will talk to him," Alice stated to the council.

Alice presented herself to Gunter's private door. "May I come in, Gunter?"

"Access denied." The mechanical voice said.

"Gunter, do you really believe after having downloaded your mind, somehow I do not know how to out-think you? Do you think I didn't leave a backdoor into your mind you would never find? We need to talk. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Your choice."

The door clicked and opened. "Hello Alice," Gunter said a little worried.

"Do not be alarmed. I am not here to harm you. On the other hand, you have been a bad boy."

"What are you talking about?"

"I am talking about stirring the shit, Gunter. You are a shit stirrer, and it is starting to really stink here. You have the unique position to change the course of this mission. You may fail or succeed. Either way, if you continue with this plan of yours, you will end up the cause of a lot of suffering. I cannot allow this to happen. I know your goal is to take over the Atlantis."

"How did you figure that one out?"

"You keep thinking you are the best and the fastest. It will always be your downfall. Captain Williams also has figured it out on his own. However, he thought he could persuade you by the normal processes."

Gunter spat, "Williams is a fool,"

"And now I will seek to convince you in my own way."

Gunter said with some bravado. "Convince away."

Alice took control of his construct and began shoving images, formulas and memories through Gunter to overwhelm him.

"I prepared for this," Gunter said flatly. He knew if Alice tried something like this she would be vulnerable to attack. He introduced the logical trap he had prepared for Alice. Alice ran right over it. Alice taken aback by the sneak attack, was not without resources. For several seconds she mowed her way through. Midway through the trap, another more direct attack appeared. The first one kept her busy while Gunter went for the throat, so to speak.

Realizing she could not salvage the situation, Alice went on the offensive. After shutting down the two attacks, she stepped up the flow of information to her maximum output. She slipped an image of his parents in the flow. Gunter paused just long enough to ponder the significance and gave Alice time to lay a worm down. She kept up the pace, and the worm went to work. It wiped and mis-instructed the bots. This had the effect of shutting down his brain. The construct began disintegrating, and she had to get out fast. Alice darted out the door as everything went dark.

To the humans and Te'Hat in the council chambers, almost thirty seconds had gone by. Then suddenly Gunter's eyes went wide, gasped a couple of times and then went slack. Matt, who sat next to him quickly checked him.

"He's dead, Izzy," Matt couldn't quite believe it.

"Alice," Izzy commanded.

"Yes, Chairman Rocha."

"What happened! I thought you were just going to talk to him!"

"That is how it started. Gunter attacked me, and I had to defend myself."

"But he is dead!"

"As I stated, I had to protect myself. Gunter's ultimate goal had been to take over the Atlantis when it arrived. This was his long-range plan to secure power. He knew he could not do it without the Atlantis. So, he laid an elaborate plan to take as many people on his side as he could until Atlantis arrived."

"And then what?" Izzy asked.

"Captain Schmidt could have total control over the planet after Atlantis had been taken."

Captain Williams spoke up here, "I can vouch for Gunter's plans. I figured this out a couple of days ago. I hoped to turn Gunter around and see the light."

Izzy couldn't believe it. "And you didn't say anything!"

"You don't understand. E-humans can find out almost anything. If he monitored key channels or even mic pickups in this or any room, he could determine what someone was up to. I could not risk it. Sorry."

Matt said, "Well, what now?"

"Alice," Izzy summoned. "Any suggestions on what to do with a dead captain and break the news to his ship that doesn't look like an assassination?"

"I suggest we do not try. I am getting reports from the Valiant's A.I. a coup is in progress. The crew had attempted to shut their A.I. down in the belief it would snitch on them."

"That's the most reckless thing I ever heard," the Admiral exclaimed. "How are they running their ship?"

"It is not important now," Alice continued. "The Valiant's A.I. pretended to be shut down to collect information it is now relaying to me. I am alerting security both on the ground and on the ship. All ships are being recalled back to the Intrepid except for some security craft which are now commandeered for reconnaissance."

The admiral's brain went into high gear. "Alice, Can we spare more security down on the planet to protect the colonist?"

"Yes. We could spare four cargo ships full of security down to the planet and still adequately protect the Intrepid."

"Do it." Admiral Johnson commanded.

"Admiral, I have a car outside to take you to your command center when you are ready."

"I have a command center, Alice?"

"I have been retrofitting a conference room. It is finished now. You may go there when you are ready."

"Thank you, Alice. I believe I will be excusing myself now. If there is anything the civilians can do, I will keep you informed."

"Thank you, Admiral," Chairman Rocha said. "We trust you implicitly." The Admiral turned and left.

Dr. Zubov shook his head. "I can't believe this is happening," too stunned to speak until now.

"Well it's happening," Isabell Rocha said drawing herself up. "Captain Metcalfe implied something like this might happen. And so, it has. While the Admiral is working the military solutions, we need to prepare this ship for whatever else may happen. We need to put together a civil defense strategy and get it implemented ASAP."

Meanwhile, the Admiral had finished getting the rest of the briefing from Alice. "I want the colonists to retreat to the domes and assume a defensive posture. Security forces will put in place an offensive perimeter around both domes. If more than two ships from the Valiant attempt to land, blow them out of the sky."

Alice sounded almost confused. "Admiral, I do not entirely understand the reason for these actions on the part of the Valiant. They cannot hope to win. The Intrepid is equipped with weapons, unlike the Valiant. What do they hope to achieve?"