Deep Love

Jareth watched the raid below. The air support job was done. He waited impatiently for the field troops to return safely. He looked at the clock. The com specialist signaled him, “Sir, a major storm is moving in. They need to get out of there now!” Jareth slammed his fist against the console in frustration. They were that close to getting information to give them the edge on the Sharlakar's leading commander.

While they had not lost any ground, they had not gained very much lately, and the blood in the medical halls was higher than ever. Jareth muttered angrily, “curse this weather. It’s ruining all our plans.” He clicked on the mass cell com communicator. “Severe storm approaching the mission is a scrub; all Units return.”

Soon he heard Aleck respond, “I’m sending the men up. I’m going in further. We have to get that transmitter chip.”

“Negative, come up now. A huge ice storm is moving in. You won’t make it.” Only static came through the speakers; Jareth turned furiously to his men “what’s going on?” He demanded shortly. His fear for Aleck's safety rose to choke him.

The communications officer desperately tapped the keys of the console. “Sorry, sir, the storms interfering with our transmission, we can’t read her.”

Jareth swore and slammed his fist into the bulkhead. “Get a ship ready; I’m going to pull her out myself.” He ran out of the central command to the nearest ship.

“Yes, sir,” the sergeant swiftly conveyed the order to the ship's maintenance crew. Jareth piloted the ship through the storm with an ease that no pilot on either the human or Rillian ships could have mastered. It was still very rough going as fierce winds buffeted the ship violently back and forth. He held on firmly to the controls as he landed on the space pad below.

He leaped out of the ship and gasped. An icy cold wind pushed him sideways. He held onto his winter headgear tightly. He fought the wind and made headway to the tunnels going down. Then got directions to the high general from soldiers who came out of the underground station. Jareth sprinted down past all the soldiers through the dark tunnels as a deadly cold wind whipped through, pushing him backward and forwards. An hour later, in the lowest level of the tunnels, he finally reached her. She had started to download the files from the transmitter. The wind created a loud sound that screamed eerily through the tunnels.

He gestured with his hand for her to come on and yelled so she could hear over the high pitch whistle of the wind. “You don’t have time for that. Let’s go.” If Jareth paused to think about it for a second was entirely pointless. Her Borg hearing could filter his speech out from a whisper. But he was in a panic.

“No, it’s important. We need this.” She yelled back. The storm hit the underground station in full power with a whomp, and the electricity died along with the download. She cursed in frustration. Jareth motioned for her to follow him out of the tunnel. There was a roar. They both were knocked back. The front of the tunnel caved in. A shower of snow and rock blocked the entrance. Suddenly in the sealed room, there was silence. They were trapped.

In desperation, he tried to connect to the high command. A deafening silence greeted him on the other end. He looked around desperately for a way out. The thermometer on the wall showed the room temperature was dropping to deadly levels.

Aleck was shooting the entranceway with her Borg-powered weapon to no avail. Aleck stopped. She realized she was only making the seal tighter by melting the ice that refroze the second her laser was off of it. The men should be above the storm in the shuttles heading for main ships in space and probably thought they were coming up shortly after them. Jareth turned to Aleck. “Why don’t you ever listen to me?!”

“Because I can save more lives.”

“In the short run, yes, but more are lost in the long. Why do you hate me so? What changed with us?” Jareth yelled in frustration.

Aleck’s blocked wall of emotion shattered like glass. “You need to go home!” she screamed irrationally back, crying with tears streaming down her face. “Back to Aunt and Uncle. This is not for people I love,” she screamed, sobbing, waving her arms wildly around her to indicate the whole of the war. “I don’t hate you. I love you. And you need to go home because what I love should not be here in this nightmare of a war!” With that, she collapsed on the frozen ground and just sobbed.

Jareth’s anger and frustration subsided as tears welled in his eyes. Oh, how he loved her. His hunger to comfort her welled up stronger than ever. He shivered as the chill penetrated his clothing. The temperature was already well below freezing.

Jareth gritted his teeth as he made a quick decision. They were going to die anyway. Yet he had one promise to keep. On his arms was a set of living bands. The top was for him, and the bottom was for the woman he chose to marry. He took off his bottom wedding band. Technically, he could have done this anytime, but it was not considered honorable to marry without family approval. He had permission from her family. For now, in this situation, it was enough.

He got on his knees to her level with it before him on the ground. “I love you too, Aleck Morganson. You’ve got it backward, though. This is my people’s war; I’ve been trained for it. You are the one who should be safe at home while I protect you, though I seemed to have failed at that,” he said, indicating the dropping thermometer gauge. “Accept my marriage band, and since we are going to die this night, let it be in each other’s arms.”

She looked across at him with frozen tears on her face. She hesitated for a moment and then nodded. Permission granted from her, he slid the marriage band on her arm high enough that it would go to her natural flesh so it could root. He relished the touch as he pulled her into his arms to hold and comfort her at last.

Then, longingly, he once again reached into her mind as he did on the nights he’d watched the stars with her, only this time, he went deeper. The power of their two minds blending shook the base. As their lips met, the need for heat registered unconsciously in the blending minds, creating a bubble-like shield around them and vibrating the molecules within the bubble generating enough heat around them that it protected the two lovers from the piercing cold that froze everything solid outside of it. Jareth held her close, breathing in her hair. At last, she was all his.

Jareth and Aleck fell asleep covered in a thermal blanket, unaware of the heat bubble they unconsciously created, protecting them with lingering power from their minds. Neither expected to wake up, so both of them woke up with a start when the communicator went off. “Admiral, General, are you ok? Report.”

Jareth responded, looking around the heat bubble and the thermal blanket, surprised and, at the same time, delighted as he felt warmth from Aleck and saw the tangle of red hair only inches from him. “We seem to be alright. We’re trapped in a cave, though.”

“We got your position, sir. We’re sending in a rescue team. Over and out.” Jareth reached over and kissed Aleck gently. They both moved out from under the emergency heat blanket. Jareth and Aleck greeted the rescue team, who were more than a little amazed to find them alive. They transported them both to be checked out by the medics while one stayed behind to finish the download Aleck started.

Jareth ignored the glares from the Vandarian medics. They were not thrilled with him choosing to marry the General. They were concerned he might have taken their high general out by impregnating her. When she turned out not to be pregnant, they were thrilled, and birth control was supplied, though they still glared in disapproval.

Jareth, in his defense, had not truly believed they would not survive the night. Also, until now, he had never realized how innocent the Colonel had kept her. She had never had the facts of life explained to her. To her, marriage was hugging, kissing, holding hands, living, and working together. The something more that happened last night she didn’t understand but had enjoyed. She was shocked when she found the medics having to explain it to her after the fact. He had no regrets about marrying Aleck, even with her complete innocence. In truth, he was thrilled. At last, she was his wife.

Jareth stood by her, enjoying the mind contact he was now free to have with her. Aleck lay in helpless frustration, limbless, as the medics went over her with a fine-tooth comb. She was also irritated with all the poking and prodding and more than a little embarrassed. Jareth touched her cheek, lovingly enjoying the ability to finally touch her and comfort her.

Jareth kept caressing her cheek as the medics finally reattached her limbs. “I’m beat,” she said as she got up and headed slowly to her room. Jareth walked beside her with his arm around her waist, a fact that wasn’t missed among the troops, who stared with slightly agape mouths. Whispers went around like wildfire, and credits were exchanged from lost bets.

When she got to her room, she was surprised when Jareth stepped in with her. The fact that they were married hadn’t fully sunk in with her. “Jareth, what are you doing?”

He smiled and stroked her hair. “You’re my wife. Living together is part of that.” He sat on the bed and pulled her to him. he said as he kissed her forehead and nose tenderly to make sure she understood everything.

Aleck found herself waking up cold on the floor while Jareth snored away on the bed wrapped in blankets. She looked at the narrow military bed and sighed. If they were going to share a room, they would need a bigger bed. She shook him. Jareth just groaned and turned over. She shook him again, and he muttered something incomprehensible and pulled up the blanket. She sighed, went to the replicator, ordered extra bedding, and moved to the couch in the outer office connected to her room.

She stared at the ceiling as she considered the new developments in her relationship with Jareth. Because of the mind-touch, she understood him now more than ever. She understood now how he saw the big picture. Just as he understood the importance of the little picture was to her. She frowned. Her fighting his command may have cost many lives.

She would resist him no longer, and she now knew that he always took her opinions seriously. He was an able and competent leader. She didn’t have to face the responsibility of leadership alone anymore. She found that was an incredible feeling she relished when their minds joined. She drifted off to sleep, enjoying the idea that she was married.

Jareth woke up in the morning concerned that Aleck was not next to him. He went to her office and saw her stretched out on the couch. He ran his hand through her hair. Her eyes opened up, and she stretched. “We need to order a bigger bed for the room.”

“What couldn’t get comfortable?”

“Not when you keep subconsciously shoving me off to the floor. And I mean, when you’re out, you’re out. You don’t wake up for nothing. I’m surprised you don’t sleep through the klaxon battle alarms.”

Jareth chuckled. “I used to, but then the officer started dumping ice water on my bed when I didn’t wake up.”

Jareth bent to kiss her when the battle alarms went off. “No time for fun. War doesn’t pause for romance.” Jareth looked around for his clothes. “Ugg, I forgot to grab fresh clothes from my quarters yesterday. I guess I need to bring some stuff over.” He made a face as he put on old clothes from the day before. After Aleck dressed, they both made their way to the deck.

“Put it on the screen ensign. Commander Markos, update us.” Jareth ordered. The command crew of the Vandarian ship looked over to Aleck, who typically gave the commands on her own ship.

“Hurry up, Ensign,” Aleck snapped.

“Yes, Sirs,” The ensign said with a glance at the couple.

“Scanners indicate at least five hundred Sharlakar ships are in this system.”

“How many did you say?” Jareth and Aleck incredulously in one voice.

“Five-Hundred,” said Commander Markos through his teeth.

Jareth and Aleck stared at the screen as the Ocean of ships opened up before them.

Jareth and Aleck joined minds and handled the tactics bubble with speed and perfection that was never there before. Then they gasped at the unexpected buildup of power they felt. Those around them stepped backed. Their eye color changed to a swirling wave of green and gold as the power built up. Soon the need to release the power inside them was an overwhelming force. They reached out their hand and released the energy build-up into the engine rooms of several large warships. Both gasped and mentally spoke to each other. “What is this?” Asked Jareth.

“I’m not sure, but if we could focus this power at strategic places along the line?”

“Of course,” Jareth answered, and he and Aleck then let loose the power that had built up within them. As it drained, they focused more on ships close to the ship.

Jareth and Aleck fought against collapsing as exhaustion hit them from the drain of power. They withdrew their minds and steadied themselves. The men needed them.

They looked up and could see the look of stunned shock on all the faces around them. Jareth and Aleck started to hand out orders, Jareth to the pilots and Aleck to the marines going in to raid the food ships. They took off in separate directions to lead their men into battle.

Jareth fired his energy beams into another and then another ship, desperate to open up at least one food ship. He glanced at his screens and frowned as he saw a ship out of the formation. “Tighten it up, boys. This Sharlakar force is not only bigger but also much better organized than before. We can’t afford any more losses.”

He flinched as a Rillian ship exploded in front of him, yet he did not pause; he had a fighter on his tail. He looped to the side in a way that surprised the other soldier and took him out. He sent missiles into one of the main ships and then shouted with glee as it sank away, opening up a pathway to a food ship.

“General Aleck, the main food area, is ready for you to invade,” He radioed to Aleck. “Keep it clear!” he ordered his fighters, who fell into place neatly behind him, keeping the food ship clear until the marines could land.

Aleck held up her hand for her troops to stop. She glanced around the corner and scanned carefully, and then sent a mini robot out in front. A bomb triggered. She sent another out. A net dropped, and a bunch of Sharlakar jumped out of hiding. She sent a fiery blast of a flamethrower from her leg down the hall, clearing it. She sent another little robot to make sure it was clear. She chafed at the delay, but there was nothing for it. These Sharlakar were more organized and seemed less afraid than ones before. Given the number of traps they set along this hall, there was something major at the end, and they were attempting to protect it.

She entered the hall and gasped. Never had she seen a food storage area as massive as this one. Thousands of bodies were in stasis from several different races, including some her computer did not recognize as a contacted race. They were alive and being transported to some central Sharlakar World. Aleck sent a secure communication out “Medics, prepare for about ten times the body count.” She whispered.

“Ten times, how in all fiery blazes are we supposed to handle ten times…?”

“Don’t care how you do it. Use the Rillian medical facilities if you have to! Just be ready to do it. Admiral Jareth had the foresight to insist on a lot more extra empty vessels be brought along and be made ready to be turned into civilian ships. See if you can use some areas on those. Also, send word to the civilian commander to prepare the ships for a huge influx of civilians.” Aleck hissed back and promptly cut off communications.

She heard a thump. Aleck swore. “Hurry, men, get in formation. They're coming.” Waves of Sharlakar pored through the door. Shots came from all sides and bounced off the reflection plates. The Sharlakar lasers bounced off the force fields around the food supplies turning the hall into a deadly trap.

Colonel Mires, Markos, and Emmon Reported in. “Check-in time, Sir.”

Colonel Mires started. “Ran into the biggest food hall I’ve ever seen. I’m pinned down here.”

Aleck shot back. “Sorry, no position to help. I’m in the same boat.

Markos said. “I ran into a standard food hall for the crew and am free and clear.

Emmon chimed in. “Same here.”

“Markos, go back up to the Colonel. Emmon, swing back to me. I’m sending you a map with where exactly I want you both to come in the back door and trap them.”

“New orders confirmed. Over and out.” They both said. Aleck ducked behind a bulkhead. She held her position. Soon Emmon rushed in, and the Sharlakar found themselves trapped. Aleck contacted the Colonel. “My hall is clear.”

He reported back. “Cleared”

Aleck sucked in air as she saw the bodies all around her. That was a little too close for comfort and way too many losses. These ships were designed differently, better, unfortunately. “We need a better plan for these newfangled ships.”

Emmon gave a hand signal to his men who fell in behind him. “Let’s finish clearing this one and then regroup as a team. I got an idea.”

The four battered and bruised high officers met back on the bridge while Jareth worked to clear out the last of the warships. Emmon had a blueprint ship design out. “Where did you get that?” Aleck asked.

“I’ve been thinking about the technology we’ve run into with these creatures. And I realized that not just some of it but all of it has been stolen. This is an Egragrican battleship. I remember an old military professor talking about the problems with Egragican pirates and rescuing captives from them and the strategy they used to tackle the ship. If anything the logistics should be simpler because the Egragrican were using them as hostages and did not have them out of the way in storage containers. Well, anyway, the strategy they came up with looked something like this….”

Aleck listened in awe. She envied him for his education and training. It gave him an edge in this. “Excellent strategy. All we have to do is...” Emmon sat back and shook his head. Only Aleck could take a strategy formed by some of the most brilliant military minds ever and sharpen it up.

The blood was deeper than ever in the medic halls as Jareth and Aleck waded through the blood that sloshed in their boots as they walked. There were so many bodies to heal the medics were taking them in shifts while leaving others preserved until the first batch was healed. They looked on in sorrow as a medic disconnected the life support of a little girl who was beyond hope to save. A voice seemed to whisper in their minds, “use the star guard with your mind powers to save the girl.”

“Who are you?” Aleck shot mentally toward the voice she knew was not hers.

Jareth jumped when the voice responded. “We are the Thallians. We are the race that defeated and judged the Rillians for their crimes a thousand years ago. We have used the Starguard for generations of rulers to make sure that an evil ruler never again rose among the Rillians. It was part of the peace treaty between our worlds. The Starguard is generally used as a brain wave magnifier, so our telepathy could observe the Rillain Royals, but it also has other powers. It can act as a conduit for your psi powers. It’s not magnifying them so much as focusing the energy from your mind to a single point. If you want to save the girl, use the starguard with your mind powers to seal her wounds. We’ll walk you through how to do the first one. You will have to limit it lest you drain yourselves too much and don’t have the power to save others.”

Jareth almost choked and said mentally. “And I thought it was my conscience talking all these years.”

“Yes, well, Prince Jareth, if you ever bothered to listen to either one (though you have learned to listen better recently), you would have saved yourself a lot of heartache over the years.” Came the humorless comment. “You must hurry, or the girl will die.”

Jareth and Aleck took each other’s hands and focused their power through the Starguard. All those around gasped as they saw the Starguard glow white with power, and the little girl gave a small gasp of air. Her stats stabilized, and the medic immediately reacted to her and began working on her.

…………………………………………………………………………………

The Rillian medics gasped as they saw the Starguard’s glow. Emmon stared in awe as he walked in behind them. His brother's starguard glow had changed from a dull green, the lowest of the colors still considered good, to a blinding bright white. The suffering he had gone through had changed him more than he had ever realized.

Outside the doors of the medical hall, Jareth and Aleck sank in exhaustion to the bloodstained floor. Emmon looked on, concerned at the two. He motioned for Marcos to pick up Aleck while Emmon helped Jareth up. They helped them to their separate quarters with a nod since the new bed hadn’t been brought yet.

Both the Rillian and Vandarian agreed that even though it would be impractical to have a wedding ceremony on a warship away from their families in space, they did want to somehow celebrate their marriage with them. Both races worked hard to have the preparations a party ready for when the two awoke. To the planner’s relief, the two slept for a full day longer than expected because they were severely exhausted.

Jareth woke up startled in his bed with the feeling something was missing. As the memories of the last couple of days flooded back, he realized it was a certain redhead in his arms. He made a quick mind touch. She was still asleep in her quarters. He was about to head straight to her when he got a glimpse of himself in the mirror and paused.

He was a mess, with his blood-splattered and sweat-stained uniform and hair that looked as if he had just stuck a finger in a socket on one side and matted flat with someone else’s blood on the other. Jareth hit the shower and then got dressed. He hit the button to slide open the closet. (in warships, anything that could end up flying through the air during space combat that, where necessary, went into sealed compartments and closets.) He grabbed a duffle bag and packed stuff he would need in Aleck's quarters on the Vandarian command ship.

He headed out the door only to find his brother Emmon and a Vandarian officer waiting for him outside, along with a mix of Vandarian and Rillian troops. “My apologies Jareth but you will have to join your wife later on the Vandarian ship. This fine Vandarian officer (Emmon gestured in general to one of the men) will be more than happy to transfer your stuff to your new quarters. But for now, we need you elsewhere.”

Jareth groaned inwardly as he saw the smile on his brother’s face. He was up to something. He also failed to give the hand signal of respect to a higher officer. He instead waited for the sign of respect for the family. (In the family, it was reversed; Jareth had to honor Emmon as his elder.) Whatever his brother was up to, he was doing the equivalent of ordering him to do it. Jareth put his two-finger together over his heart with a bow to show the family sign of respect and then gave his duffle bag to the officer.

Then he followed his brother and the Vandarian officer to Emmon’s quarters, where Emmon had a large breakfast and a dress uniform waiting for him there, along with a barber. Jareth raised his eyebrows questioningly but did as he was told. He went in and chowed down. He knew Emmon would explain in good time.

Aleck woke up with a start in her room. She reached out to touch Jareth’s mind, who assured her everything was fine. He had to deal with something that Emmon needed him for. Her stomach growled hungrily. She took a shower, threw on some grubs, and headed out to the mess hall, only to find Colonel Mires and a Rillian officer waiting outside the door.

“I will have to ask you to come with us, High General, and not to touch your husband’s mind for a time.” Colonel Mires showed respect but spoke in the fatherly voice she came a long time ago to mean, “You may outrank me, but I practically raised you, and you better darn well listen and do as I say.” Come to think of it, that was a direct quote from him at one point. She followed him. When she saw them approaching the hairdresser part of the ship, she groaned and wondered what they were up to now. She was at least relieved to find a huge breakfast waiting for her.

Aleck gaped at herself in the mirror at the formal she was wearing. The gown was in the colors blue and red of the Vandarian Marines. The primary color was a dark blue with red on the accents of the gown. It was off her shoulder, and the skirt flared out, stopping at her knees in front but reaching to her calves in back.

……………………………………………………………………..

Jareth whistled in appreciation when he saw Aleck. Jareth turned to Emmon. So do you want to tell us what is going on now?”

Emmon smiled. The soldiers just want to celebrate your marriage with you. I know we can’t have an official wedding or anything yet, but we thought we’d at least through a party for you.”

When Jareth and Aleck stepped through the door, they shouted, “Congratulations!” Soon loud music was blaring, and everyone was either dancing or eating. Several hours later, Marcos got on the intercom and announced. “Time for Toasts and Gifts.”

“Toast and Gifts?” Aleck asked the colonel who was standing next to her. They all wanted to get you some sort of wedding present.

The first gift was two well-organized books of gift cards. One book was for shops on Vandarian worlds; the other was for shops on Rillian planets. Since they were in a warship and most gifts would be impractical, the men decided on something they could use later after the war. There was everything in the books, from certificates for meals at restaurants to free brand new houses. (Those were personalized ones from some wealthier cyborgs and Rillians.)

Next, the soldiers stood aside, and a screen opened before them. There before them, like a shining jewel, was a brand new flagship with Rillian and Van flags carved into the side of the ship. “When and how?” Jareth asked, shocked.

Your father did send some extra ships at the last world we stopped at; we just grabbed the nicest one and worked on it a bit. A ship map was downloaded into Aleck's arm along with directions to their new quarters. Jareth and Aleck bowed before the people both touched.

Comfortable with public speaking or not, Jareth knew he needed to give a thank you speech. He walked up over to the platform and smiled over at his wife. Somehow her being at his side for this made it easier. He kept the speech short and simple and ended with, “For the Party and the generous gifts, we thank you both from the bottom of our hearts.” They bowed together and made the servant of yours sign to the people. The cheers that filled the crowd were deafening. Those who designed their new quarters waited for the prince and princess eagerly on the transport platform of the new ship. They were very excited to give them a tour of what they had prepared for them.

For a battleship, the quarters prepared were huge. It had a bedroom with a huge bed. While the closet and dresser were ship standard safety-wise. (In which all their good stuff was already stored. (All old and worn stuff had been thrown away and replaced.) There were intricate designs on both. The bathroom was an actual full bathroom with a bath with a mirror designed to connect to Aleck’s eyes. It had a unique cabinet filled with bath salts, bubble baths, shampoos, and shower gels. It had a separate bedroom from the living room/dining room area, with a couch (all sealed to the floor) and a food bar with a food ordering computer. Connected to that were two war offices, one facing the Borg side of the ship and one facing the Rillian.

Aleck and Jareth turned to the tour givers and thanked them sincerely. The designers left thrilled and proud. Finally, Jareth and Aleck were alone. Aleck sat down, feeling exhausted and overwhelmed. The ceremony and reception had taken almost half a day. Jareth sat down next to her, took her in his arms, and let his hunger win.

The crew tried not to disturb the couple over the next two days. They regretted they could not give them more time than that. But they still had a war to fight, and they needed their High General and High Admiral. So day three, the couple found Coronal Mires, Emmon, and Markos at the door, joining them for breakfast with the information they decrypted from the transmitter chip. “Just broke the codes on it this morning; we need to move soon.” Said Markos as he lounged his 6’5 Azriangian body onto the couch.

Jareth and Aleck looked at it and frowned. According to the report, the Sharlakar had just invaded one of the Rillian’s heavy metal mining worlds. It was a main world with a vast population. It was also a major manufacturer of warships. This was a blow. According to this information, they were just a day too late. Jareth held his breath in hope. “It will be difficult, but it is a main world and should have a good defense. They should be able to hold the Sharlakar back for a time.”

“If they don’t, we’re in a world of hurt, giving the weapons technology there that they would steal and use against us.”

Jareth pulled up the planet's defense intelligence. “They have just enough to hold the Sharlakar off long enough for us to get our strike force past the Sharlakar wall of defense on the jump systems in-between.”

“Let’s hope so.” Said Aleck as she went to the replicator to order food.

Marcos pushed a button on the middle of the coffee table, and a tri-di map was projected. They ate breakfast and looked it over. Colonel Mire’s eyes narrowed as he pointed out a jump path on the star globe map. ‘’There, It’s a bigger fleet but with fewer Sharlakar-infested jumps. If we hit that, we can cut our time down in half.’’

“Bigger is right. It’s Huge. This would be the biggest formation we ever hit.” Aleck scratched her head thoughtfully. “Yet….. The Sharlakar may not expect it.”

“If we had more specific information on the fleet that was there before we made the Jump-” Markos paused as if remembering something from his past. “We could send in one of their mini-attackers remotely with a dead Sharlakar from the other ship and set it for random jumps. Make it look as if he was fleeing and died trying to return to the fleet. If we set in some scanners on the ship to send back information-”

“It would take up time. But not as much time as jumping through the small ones. If it gives us an edge given the fleet size there, it would be time well spent.” Aleck responded.

“If we do that, we should hit here instead,” Jareth said, pointing to the heart of the line with a massive horde of ships. “Timidity will only cause them to strengthen their forces, and if we can break through here, it will divide their force in half.”

“That’s almost triple the size of anything we’ve taken on before. We’ll lose a lot of men.”

“I know, but we’ll save a lot more in the long run.” Jareth shot her an overall mental picture he had in his mind.

He was right. Aleck had an idea to add if they were going to do this. “Okay, then how about this. Attack one of the minor outskirt worlds along the line, get fresh Sharlakar bodies, and send them ahead of time without scanners that tremendous force just in case they do an initial search. Then Attack another minor outskirt and send several to different places where there are sharlakar forces. Then follow up by attacking a couple of the places we sent the bodies to that are not the main horde. Make sure all these escape pods we send through initially are without scanners. So when the escape pods show up where we do want to scan, they won’t think to look for the scanners. When we have all the data on the main group, we jump to the underside of those ships in a slingshot effect for an added surprise.”

“It is as good a plan as any. All agreed? “

“All agreed,” the rest said in unison. The Colonel, Markos, and Emmon turned to Aleck in surprise with arched eyebrows.

“What?” She said, squirming uncomfortably with all eyes on her.

“Not arguing this time?”

“I’ve come to understand his strategies, and he mine. He sees the big picture, and I see the immediate one, and we make the two sets of thinking work together. Now for those external systems-” The planning went on until about noon. They decided to hit the first minor system the next day. Colonel Mires and Markos excused themselves.

Emmon sat in the lounge chair and looked through the ship lunch menu. “So, my dear Sister-in-Law, what shall we have for lunch.”? Aleck choked on her coffee. Emmon was there to get to know his sister-in-law better as a sister-in-law. Because they were family, mealtimes were always shared among Rillians. Her attempt to keep people she had to fight with at a distance failed miserably.

Jareth, Emmon, and Aleck sat down together, and somehow the conversation drifted to family and friends on Vandar. After lunch, Emmon went back to his quarters. Aleck looked across the table with a sigh at her husband, who smiled back. They both headed to their offices and worked on plans for their side of the invasion.