“So, your claiming that some strange alien spieces – that we’ve never encountered before – damn near took out an entire team of AFH soldiers?” Senator Bergman said after Jack had concluded his hour long recounting of the battle that led to Ortiz’s death.

“Yes sir.”

“And you also say that you killed the creature by,” He paused to look at his notes, “Forcing a single ‘thread’ of light into the creature and pulling that same thread back out?”

“To put it simply, yes.” Jack replied. “I don’t really understand why it worked, but it did.”

“Officer Albert, might you have an explaination?” Bergman asked.

A single platform near the back of the Chamber floated towards the center in response to the question. On it were seven desks, each with a stylized representation of their respective corps. Of those desks, only one had a person actually sitting behind it, leaving the other six with nothing but a holographic representation of their owner.

“At this time, we do not have a fully formed explaination.” Albert said, “From what we can see, the creature obviously has some sort of evolutionary immunity to Light, but that does not explain the why.”

“Helpful as always.” Senator Bacon quipped.

“For one that demands silence so readily, you sure do enjoy hearing yourself speak Senator Bacon.” Albert said calmly before returning his attention to Jack, “I feel as though we have focused too much on the beginning of your tale, and not the end.”

“Private Monroe,” He continued after turning his attention back to Jack, “If you would, please explain to this chamber the feat of sheer heroics that you and your men preformed?”

Jack simply stared back at his teach, not knowing what it was that he wanted.

“The rescue mission and escape dear boy.” Albert clarified.

“Sir, after we secured the package and realized what it took for the Gate to find us, we decided, as a whole, that it would not be right to leave any member of our company behind. So, we stole a vehicle and charged for the edge of the compound. Once we came to the gate, Private’s Neilson and Walker,” He said motioning for the two women to stand, “Worked together to power a shot that cut a large enough hole for us to drive out and into the battle raging nearby. Eventually, we managed to get everyone together, and Alexader and I opened a Gate back to the Washington.”

Just as he was about to sit, he thought of one more thing that must be said, “I didn’t ask my men to risk their lives for recognition. I did it because not a single one of us would be able to sleep at night if we were the reason these soldiers never made it home.”

“Well, I for one can smell bullshit all over his story.” Senator Bacon said, leaning back in his chair, “There’s no way a squad on their first real mission manages to come to that realization AND pull it off without pissing themselves.”

“Senator!” Albert said sharply, “I’ve heard just about enough out of you. If, by some miracle, you have something constructive to say then by all means, say it. But, if you are just going to sit there like that fat cow you are, then I will release these soldiers.”

“Oh be quite you toothless hound.” Senator Greene said, backing up her party member while remaining at her place, “You and yours are nothing but relics of a past era. Why would I or anyone in their right mind listen to your interpretation of anything? Now, it seems pretty clear to me that these soldiers here are either covering up their true failure, or they made some kind of deal with the enemy.”

“Mary-taylor Greene,” Albert replied tension rising in his voice, “I do suggest you withdraw that statement. Or need I remind you of High Chancellor Vadim?”

“Yes, I was there in the street when your lapdog threw him from the roof, but your all alone here. Threatening to kill me wont make my truth’s go away!”

“This is foolish.” Another senator from the other side of the room interjected, “Mary-Taylor, if you want to be ostracized from anyone and everyone important, the continue speaking. Otherwise, shut your mouth and allow the grown ups to speak.

“Officer Mayer, I beleive that we’ve gotten all we can out of these soldiers… for now.” Senator Peters said, her voice carrying well throught the chamber, “I motion to have the privates released, but for the Captain and First Sergeant to remain throughout the deliberation.”

She fell silent, allowing time for any new objections to be raised. After a few moments of silence, she informed Speir Squad that they could leave, and that they would be summoned to the chambers again if the need was great enough.

As the Privates happily stepped off the platform and out of the chambers, they heard First Sergeant Summers being called to give his own version of testimony. Apparently a detailed accounting of the battle and its decisions was not enough for some of these politicians, a sentiment that was futher enforced when the First Sergeant sent them a message saying to enjoy the next several days while they deliberated.

“That was a dumpster fire.” Dave said when the doors closed as they exited the building.

“How so?” Jack asked, walking toward the street. His desire to be away from the building evident in his long stride.

“Are you kidding me?” Alec said, “What happened to the whole ‘be respectful and only say what is necessary’ thing the Captain told you?”

“Would’ve gone great if the asshole wouldn’t have been so disrespectful at every other corner.” Jack replied, “Or were you guys ok with that man pretending like we didn’t risk our lives on a machine that has literally no practical use?”

“He has a point Al.” Warren said, “Honestly, the tech for that engine is not compatible with ours, and we both know it. Without a doubt, it is possibly the most expensive paperweight in the entire UHR.”

“What I hate is that he openly said we were not to be trusted simply because of our ranks.” Thea added, “But, we also need to realize that we can’t do anything about the situation right now. We have a few days down here, and I for one am going to enjoy staying planetside for a change.”

While they still weren’t happy about their treatment, Thea’s point concerning their virtual freedom reignited the spark of excitement throughout the group. The truth was that she was right, there really was nothing they could do about a senator being an asshole, but there was everything to do about their time planetside.

“Come oonnnn,” Dave moaned. They’d spent the past four hours going in and out of various shops, and while they had found many things that were incredibly cool – an upgraded shielding module that allowed him to extend his own protection to the wearing being the least of them – it was still shopping. “Look guys, I have been wanting to see one of these things live since that first week on the Alexander.”

“We know,” Candace said, “And you haven’t shut up about the game since. All I’m saying is that there is a whole bunch of city to see and not a lot of time. Do I really want to spend it watching a game in an arena full of drunks?”

While looking through the various shops and attractions, Dave had seen a poster promoting a game of Null-Ball that was taking place that night. As a huge fan of the game, he really didn’t care which teams were playing, but rather simply wanted to see one in person. The speed, the action, the straight up brutality, it all came together to create this game where rules were laughed at and the entertainment was high.

“Well, yeah!” He replied with a confused look on his face, “Especially since I plan on getting good and hammered at some point in the night, might as well be at the coolest sporting event mankind has ever dreamt up.”

“And why would I want to spend my night watching people pummel each other and trying to make sure you don’t murder your liver?”

“Because it is fun,” Dave replied in an exasorbated tone, “I mean really, worst case scenario, what happens? We have a good time and get just a hair closer.”

“Dave,” Cecile said, “We have spent the past two years together. The first one, sure we didn’t know each other all that great. But we have spent every waking moment of the past year with one another. Hell, we even went shopping together in a place where we could’ve all fucked off and done whatever we wanted.”

“CC,” Dave replied, “We are like a family, and familys do stuff together. Even when some of it seemed dumber then shit.”

“She wont be alone, the four of us are going to use this time planetside and go to a spa for the evening. We’ll catch up with you after the game.” Thea explained.

“Three,” Nessa countered, “You may not like the game, but I do. I also don’t really do the whole spa thing, so I’m going get drunk and watch various athelets beat the crap out of one another.”

“Really?” Thea asked, a little shocked. The hard faced warrior never really seemed like the type to take to a spa treatment, but in all the time she’d known Nessa, not once did she care about sports.

“Yeah. I went with the boys back when we first joined up on the Alexander, and it was fun. So I may as well continue the tradition.” She replied, pulling up her map interface and plotting the quickest path to the arena. “You go without me. Enjoy yourselves, I know I will.”

The three women simply shrugged in response and turned, walking away to go enjoy an evening of relaxation and pampering.

Taking his queue, Dave followed did the same and led the group of five soldiers toward the a massive dome a short ten blocks away. While he walked, he made sure to begin his pre-game ritual of drinking by stopping at one of the many bars along his path. At some unknown point in the short voyage, he even ended up with a some strange variation on a hotdog.

“How do you do that?” Jack asked.

“What?” Dave asked around a mouthful of food.

“Eat mystery meat and drink like you’re on death row.”

“Oh, that’s easy. If it walks and fits on my grill, I eat it. Usually with a beer or two in my hand.”

“That answers… Nothing.” Jack said, shaking his head and pulling away from the cowboy.

The arena on Pheonix Prime was much different then the simulated one on the Alexander. First and foremost, it spanned almost six city blocks with entrances on every side. The dome itself was black with specks of light occasionally interspersed throughout its entireity. Obviously, the artist in charge of this particular building was going for an emulation of space itself.

As they walked through the gate, an alarm dinged in the corner of his vision notifying him that the ticket price had been deducted from his bank account. The transaction was so quick and seamless that if he hadn’t been already been exposed to the feature while shopping, he wouldn’t have realized that the ticket cost anything at all.

“Where are our seats?” Jack asked as they pushed through the crowd.

“Very top, we cant afford better on Private salary.” Dave said, much happier than anyone should be at the prospect of being near broke, “But you guys go ahead. I’m going to order some ‘necessities.’”