“Dr. Gregory, it is a pleasure to see you again,” Fleet Admiral Hitchens said with a friendly smile.

The Fleet Admiral extended his hand in welcome to the person who had carried the hopes of the human population for over a decade.

“It’s my pleasure, sir,” Dr. Gregory replied, firmly shaking Hitchens’ hand.

After celebrating the first successful testing of the hyper drive core, Dr. Gregory and his team contacted the Fleet Admiral through secure channels. They were ordered to keep quiet about the accomplishment until the Fleet Admiral came to witness their achievement firsthand. He had brought along various leaders from all over their solar system to bear witness to the first official run of Dr. Gregory’s hyper drive core.

After acknowledging their achievement, the Fleet Admiral and the various leaders jointly ordered a ship—big enough to house the hyper drive core—to be constructed as soon as possible. The team tasked to build the spaceship was sworn to secrecy and isolated in Dr. Gregory’s lab. Because they couldn’t move the hyper drive core, the construction team had to figure a way to build around it.

Frankly, it amazed Dr. Gregory and the Fleet Admiral that the ship had been fully constructed within five years. They had anticipated at least seven years. Unfortunately, end result was enormous; it was the largest spaceship ever built by human hands. With her red and black exterior, her massive frame, and hundreds of thousands of concealed weaponry packed throughout her body, the ship seemed perfect to announce the humans’ arrival to galactic warfare. It seemed only fitting for the ship to be named The Executioner.

“What do you think of your new flagship, sir?” Dr. Gregory asked.

“She’s a beauty,” Hitchens said. “Does she really have to be this big, though? It almost seems so impractical…”

“Haha, you and I both know looks aren’t everything. What matters is the end result, Fleet Admiral,” Dr. Gregory said.

“I know, but I fear the moment hyper drive is started; the ship will be blown to bits. I’d really hate to see my flagship destroyed before I step foot on her,” Hitchens responded with a chuckle.

Although the Fleet Admiral spoke in a joking tone; however in reality, he was voicing the unspoken opinion of many. A majority of those who knew about the project feared the weight of the core would cause the ship to crash and burn before it even reached terminal velocity.

Dr. Gregory took the comment in stride, laughed, and said, “As a fellow human, I understand your concern with the ship’s design. However as a scientist, I can tell you that the best and brightest minds worked together in building this masterpiece. We have put her through multiple computer simulations and I can reassure you that the odds of failure are really slim.”

“That’s good to hear,” Hitchens said as he turned to the observation deck.

Once again, the respective leaders of their solar system had gathered together, this time on the outskirts of Jupiter, to witness this historic event. For the sake of total secrecy, in case of failure, the ship had been veiled and towed from Earth to Jupiter for her maiden voyage. They watched as the hand-selected crew for The Executioner walked out of the hanger and towards the ship with a sense of purpose. They stopped at the entrance to the ship, turned around, and saluted the spectators with determined expressions on their faces.

“Fleet Admiral Hitchens, I hope the captain of The Executioner’s maiden voyage is a competent individual,” President Tikon said. “If he messes up, who knows how long it will take to engineer another hyper drive engine.”

“Don’t worry, Mrs. President. Admiral Ichika is the one of the best pilots in the armada. There’s no one I’d trust more to pilot The Executioner on her maiden voyage. Furthermore, Ichika has been an integral cog in how the ship was constructed so quickly. He walked on her deck, offered his own input and advice on how to improve her, and most importantly, he has a feel for her—he understands her every movement. At this point, The Executioner is like the daughter Admiral Ichika never had. He won’t let anything happen to her.”

“Hmph. I’d feel better if you were piloting the ship.”

“…”

They fell silent as an electronic voice said, “Maiden voyage for The Executioner beginning in one minute.”

“Are you nervous, Dr. Gregory?” Hitchens asked.

“I believe in science and cold, hard facts, sir. I’m confident that it will work.”

“Your confidence is catchy, Dr. Gregory. My confidence is growing with each passing second. Can you believe we are about to witness history?”

“Nope.”

Fleet Admiral Hitchens opened and shut his mouth as the countdown hit 10 seconds. Dr. Gregory walked up to the glass for a closer view of the launch. He subconsciously gripped the railing as the countdown slowly decreased.

“7 seconds…”

“6 seconds…”

“5 seconds…”

The crew started the ship’s engine and pull away from the dock.

“4 seconds…”

“3 seconds…”

The observers watched the ship start to drift away from the planet.

“2 seconds…”

Everyone invited collectively took a deep breath.

“1 second…”

Time seemed to stop as they waited for the crew to engage the hyper drive core.

Suddenly, the onlookers heard Admiral Ichika’s voice through the speakers, “Hyper drive core engaging.”

Everyone’s eyes immediately darted towards the video monitors mounted on top of the observation deck and watched The Executioner’s progress. Not only did the video monitors provide the spectators with a completely unhindered view of the crew, but also presented up to date analysis on how the hyper drive core held up.

“Well Dr. Gregory, how is she holding up?”

“Fine! Absolutely fine!” Dr. Gregory said. “Admiral Ichika, run a full systems check from your end.”

“Affirmative.”

Suspense filled the air as they waited for the Admiral to reply back.

“All systems are functioning, sir. It runs perfectly.”

“Thank you, Admiral. Reverse course for home,” Hitchens said.

The Fleet Admiral turned around and observed looks of tension transforming to relief on everyone’s faces. Cheers of joy soon followed. They had done it. Now humanity would no longer be at the mercy of other galactic civilizations.

“Congratulations on your achievement, Dr. Gregory. You and your team have changed the trajectory of the human civilization for centuries to come,” Hitchens said.

“Thank you, sir. I’d like to thank you in advance for your future efforts in bringing peace to a vastly troubled universe.”

Hitchens laughed and said with a bloodthirsty smile, “Dr. Gregory, you know as well as I that I won’t be bringing peace to the rest of the universe. I will be seeking to conquer.”

“…”

A sliver of a smile appeared on Dr. Gregory’s face. When he undertook the project, he understood that the hyper drive core would be implemented into ships and used for war purposes, yet a part of him hoped the upper echelons of military command would change their minds and use this opportunity for the betterment of human society. They could travel throughout galaxies, research indigenous species on habitable planets, and perhaps colonize other worlds. He didn’t want his engine to be primarily used for war.

“Dr. Gregory?”

“I hear you are meeting with President Tikon and other world leaders tomorrow to discuss humanity’s next move.”

“Yep.”

“What are you going to recommend?” Dr. Gregory asked timidly.

Dr. Gregory knew his responsibility lay in reverse engineering the hyper drive core; he was not entitled to know anything more. He understood that he only played a small role in the grand scheme of things, but as the lead scientist in charge of developing the hyper drive core, he hoped that he would get an answer.

“Sorry, that is classified,” Hitchens said.

Dr. Gregory’s face fell.

“But, I sure as hell can’t tell you that we are about to go on the offensive.”

Dr. Gregory grimly smiled and nodded. He knew the Fleet Admiral bore no love for the invaders. Even though it had been two hundred years, he still bore a grudge. Rumor had it that many of the Fleet Admiral’s family had fought in the Battle of Survival and had perished. Furthermore as the highest-ranking officer in the armada, the Fleet Admiral had access to all the classified documents regarding the aliens. Maybe the Fleet Admiral knew something that the rest of the world didn’t.

By the gods, I hope the war will be a successful endeavor. My only hope is there is something left for us, scientists, to harvest from the destruction, Dr. Gregory thought as he turned around and left.

“Good luck, sir!” Dr. Gregory said to the Fleet Admiral without turning around.

Good luck, indeed…