Eirik was enjoying himself. Having nothing to do but heal and rest, he had started reading again. He was in the middle of the Icelandic Edda's when there was a knock on his door. "ENTER" he yelled, not bothering to look up.

"Hey Captain," Came the voice of Signe and Jesper in unison. "You got a minute to discuss a new idea??"

Putting a bookmark on the page and closing the book, Eirik looked up with interest. "A new idea?? What have you got in mind?"

Jesper began explaining, "You know how durable the siege armors are, and you know we have been lacking a way to send troopers directly into the fight without the risk of losing an entire squad if a lucky shot hits the transport, right?"

Eirik nodded his approval. He was well aware of this. "Well," Jesper continued "I was speaking with Signe as she was making repairs to the siege armors, and I had this crazy idea. If we could upgrade the siege armors to contain a pressurized atmosphere, we could make single man drops directly from orbit. They are already designed to withstand temperatures far greater than reentry from space would cause on Terra, which means that at least 90% of all inhabited planets will be within operational range.

Our troops can get a battlefield overview before landing and they can defend themselves before they hit the ground. However, and this is where we need your permission to go ahead, This will require some research to counteract the enormous amounts of energy in play during the landing phase. We would like your go-ahead to get this project started as soon as possible."

"Permission granted, send me an overview of the cost and materials needed and we will make it happen as soon as possible." Eirik was delighted at the prospect of being able to send in troopers one by one, minimizing the risk of losing soldiers on their way to a battlefield. With a bit of fine-tuning, they should be able to land troops with pinpoint accuracy as well, making surgical strikes a much more viable option in the future.

Given the guerilla-style tactics he had to employ when going against an entire species, this was very welcome news indeed.

With this out of the way, Signe took her leave but Jesper stayed behind. "There is more captain.."

"Go ahead Jesper, it's just the 2 of us" Eirik leaned back, getting comfortable in his reclining chair.

"We need to update our combat protocols. We cannot use small-scale tactics in large-scale engagements. I want permission to train the packs as a single unit, besides their regular training. We could adopt the Greek phalanx, the roman shield castle, or increase the size of the shield wall, though I am leaning most towards the roman shield castle."

Eirik pondered this for a moment. Jesper was right, of course, but none of those options appealed to him. "What about this, Jesper. You continue regular training, but add normal rifle drills and modern combat training. Have them working as a well-trained commando squad with our old tactics in reserve, to be used defensively when outnumbered or caught by surprise."

Now it was Jesper's time to ponder for a moment. "This will solve the problem in the short term, but we need something more Captain. It is not like you to not think long term like this."

Eirik smiled a knowing smile and replied, "Don't worry Jesper, I have a long game running. Just trust me on this. The jungle moon will provide a great training ground for you and your troops. Anything else?"

"Only 1 more thing Captain. Las'Tai." Jesper's expression was impossible to read and Eirik had to ask. "What about her?" His voice was a fair bit sharper than he wanted it to be, but too late to change that.

"She has been a model member of the security team, even gaining praise from the other for her diligence, though it disrupts their card games," The last part was added with a small chuckle, "I have witnessed her work myself. Professional, punctual, diligent, and generally a pleasure to work around. I recommend you soon elevate her to a full crew member."

Eirik was slack-jawed for a second. Finally regaining control of his voice he managed, "Who are you, and where is my head of security?"

"I know it's a 180 from my original point of view, but she has kept her end of the deal and worked her ass off, as much as that is possible on internal security anyways"

Taking a moment to let the words sink in, Eirik finally said "Alright, I will consider that. We finished??"

"Yes, Captain." Jesper left as well, letting Eirik get back to reading, but not even 30 minutes later there was another knock at the door.

"ENTER!" Eirik was annoyed. he had just settled in with a new cup of coffee and was getting into the flow of the book again. This time, it was Knud at the door. "Here for your daily check-up Captain, but I also had a request to make of you":

"Ask away Knud, but do so during the check-up, I want to get back to my book." Eirik stood up and removed his shirt so the doctor could examine his wounds.

"I was reading up on old medical journals, and I stumbled upon an article from the 21st century, describing a salve that had been used to regrow a frog's leg, on a species which is not known for regeneration of lost limbs. With your permission, I would like to start working on trying to find and possibly synthesize this salve, as it could make a true breakthrough in medical science."

"I see no reason to deny that request, go right ahead Knud." Eirik was once again, delighted at the ideas his crew was putting forth. Of course, all of this was theoretical, just like the armor talk with Signe and Jesper, but if it turned out to be possible, he would have gained significant advantages in the coming war.

The check-up went fine, his bandages got changed and wounds got disinfected. Bidding Knud goodbye, he sat back down to finally get back to his book. The poetic writings were amazing and he loved reading through them, though he barely had the time to do so anymore.

As he was turning the page, there was a knocking on the door for the third time. "ENTER!!" This was getting irritating, he just wanted to read and relax!! This time it was David at the door. Captain? you said you would explain your reasoning for going to the jungle moon."

Eirik sighed and put the book down yet again. "That's true David, I did promise that. It's quite simple. Even if my grandfather finds us there, tracking us in the jungle is all but impossible and the difficult terrain will provide excellent training opportunities for the new pack members. They need to get good and do so fast. What better place than a moon, colonized by Terran's, turned into a hunting reserve filled with every predator known to our species?" Eirik was smiling wide as he spoke. He loved that moon. Every moment alive there was a victory over the odds.

'I guess that makes sense, but would you leave the ship in orbit and go in on foot??" David sounded concerned.

"Of course not David, I would leave a skeleton crew, enough to get the ship away in a hurry, but nothing more. I have no interest in becoming a domestic terrorist as well as an outlaw."

Satisfied, David turned to leave but Eirik's voice stopped him. "By the way David, in the future, when we engage in ship-to-ship fighting, I want every effort taken to ensure the enemy ships are only disabled. Not destroyed. I have plans for the future."

Puzzled, David mumbled a "Yes Captain," and continued out of the room.

"Now there cannot be anymore that can disturb my reading!" Eirik thought to himself as he reheated his coffee, but just as he sat down with the warm coffee to resume reading there was a fourth knock on the door.

"ENTER!!" Eirik was angry now, he was done being interrupted. Las'Tai popped her head inside his room. "Captain, I have received a message you might want to see...."

Eirik's anger dissipated like morning dew in the summer sun. "A message?? Let me see." Who could write Las'Tai, besides her mother, that would hold interest to Eirik?