~ PART ONE ~
CHAPTER ONE
"Fire!" ordered Captain Lucy Preston of the U.S.S. Mason Federation Alliance."
Commander Wyatt Logan executed the command, sending out two plasma torpedoes. They hit their mark on pirate Nero Zombani's ship, who then returned fire on the Alliance.
"Captain, they hit our main thruster, but damage is minimal, ninety-five percent," Lieutenant Commander Jiya Haddad declared.
"Let's end this," Lucy said.
Jiya looked at her monitor, "Firing three torpedoes at their rear auxiliary boosters should get their shields down and immobilize their ship."
"Wyatt, fire three at will," Lucy ordered.
"Aye, aye, captain," Wyatt responded, immediately returning fire.
All three torpedoes hit the rear boosters, crippling Nero's ship. "That did it captain!" Jiya exclaimed.
"Alright team, let's board them!" Lucy said, leading the way off the bridge with Wyatt and Lieutenant Dave "Bam Bam" Baumgardner following behind her to the transport bay.
Lucy, along with several members of the boarding team, appeared on Zombani's crude, dirty bridge and immediately took command. The team aimed their guns at the crew while Lucy trained hers on the thick, stocky, mustached man.
"Nero Zombani, I am Captain Lucy Preston of the U.S.S. Mason Federation. You and your crew are under arrest by the Galactic & Intergalactic Federation and Mason Federation authorities."
FEDERATION COURT FACILITIES - SAN FRANCISCO
Various federation council members sat in the observation section of the court auditorium, along with concerned citizens eagerly crowding in and filling the rest of the seats. All were waiting for the verdict of Nero Zombani, who stood in the middle of the auditorium cuffed and encased behind an energy field in front of the three court officials who were going to be sentencing him. They were Admiral Denise Christopher of the Mason Federation, Head Administrator, Ambassador Connor Mason of Mason Federation and Colonel Gregory Wong of Galactic & Intergalactic Federation. Lucy was also present in the officers' section on the front row, seated behind the court officials.
Colonel Wong read from his tablet, "The charges being brought against you, Nero Zombani, are for illegal activities of piracy. You have been brought to justice by the Galactic & Intergalactic Federation and Mason Federation and will receive punishment for your deeds."
"Come on! All I do isn't all that wrong!" Zombani laughed.
Mason sat forward, "This court is finding you guilty of over fifteen counts of piracy. You have been robbing from the federation and the citizens of the United Galaxies, smuggling their purchased possessions and reselling them for profit across international galactic parameters! You will be punished to the fullest extent of the law!" Zombani frowned as Mason continued, "I hardly think this is a funny time for you, Mr. Zombani. You're going to be put away for life."
Excited murmuring went through the auditorium as Christopher banged her gavel twice, "Nero Zombani, this court finds you guilty of-."
"What if I can give you one of the top people that you and all your other Federation, and even Rittenhouse, have been looking for?" Zombani interrupted.
More excited murmuring rose up. Christopher spoke over the noise, "What are you saying, Mr. Zombani?"
Zombani splayed his cuffed hands awkwardly, "To, how you say, cut a deal?"
"There will be no deal for you," Wong said with finality.
"Garcia Flynn!" Zombani threw out.
The murmuring throughout the court auditorium rose in volume when Zombani named Garcia Flynn, causing Christopher to have to bang the gavel several times.
"Order in the court!" she commanded!"
"I know where he is! I can give you his location!" Zombani persisted.
Christopher immediately hit a button causing the energy field around Zombani to black out the courtroom from his sight and hearing.
The auditorium continued to buzz loudly as Lucy leaned forward to Christopher. "Admiral, you believe him?"
Christopher sat back and swiveled to look at Wong, Mason and Lucy. "I know he's a pirate and his word is worth almost nothing, but he knows that this is the end of the line for him and the best thing he can do is cut a deal to get a lighter sentence. So, there may be some truth to what he's saying."
Lucy reasoned, "Even if he is telling the truth, Garcia Flynn has been quite evasive to say the least. The probability of actually finding and arresting him are small; and may take a lot of manpower and Federation dollars."
Mason leaned forward, "Rittenhouse is systematically and aggressively working toward taking over this quadrant of the galaxy and who knows how far beyond that! All international galactic agencies are on high alert to try and keep Rittenhouse at bay, but we are steadily losing. We'll need to at least hear Zombani out because, at this point, we are out of options."
Wong added, "Garcia Flynn is the one person Rittenhouse has been seeking longer than we have. If we can capture him, then we can possibly cut a deal with Rittenhouse by offering him to them. That might give us a chance to destroy them."
Lucy couldn't argue with them. The way Rittenhouse was taking over, dominating and infusing their order throughout the galaxy, they had to be stopped. But capturing Garcia Flynn?
That was a feat in itself.
Lucy sat looking at the faces of all her crew members on her monitor. They had been called in to the urgent meeting to receive their new orders.
"Two years ago, Major Garcia Flynn of the Galactic & Intergalactic Air Force Federation went AWOL after Rittenhouse destroyed Space Station Prime 141, killing his family. Now, he's a smuggler who steals goods from other smugglers and transports them across international galactic lines. This is how he makes his money. Admiral Christopher has given orders to arrest him. Be on board the Alliance tomorrow morning by oh five hundred; we're leaving at oh six hundred hours. All of you get some rest and I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yes captain," Wyatt, Jiya, Lieutenant Commander Dr. Noah Magano and Bam Bam said together.
Lucy touched her monitor and signed off. She sat back in her desk chair looking out of the window of her Mason Federation base apartment. It was Friday night and she figured she had just thrown a bucket of water on her crews' evening festivities. As much as she wished they could have some time off and relax, duty called. All of them had been commissioned to ship out, find and apprehend Garcia Flynn.
Garcia Flynn.
The man that had cost her an extra year in the academy.
SEVEN YEARS EARLIER - THE PRESIDIO OF SAN FRANCISCO
Dressed in her official dark-blue Mason Federation Navy uniform, Lucy sat alone in the waiting room of a lecture hall, staring at a row of ten empty, black leather chairs. She had arrived early, hoping to have time to calm her nerves and be composed enough to go before the panel, but it wasn't working. Her nerves were through the roof. The final decision regarding her getting her own ship was up in the air. Unfortunately, she had failed the Mason Federation Simulated test the prior year, but had been determined to pass it this year. And she had... barely. Which placed her in a category where she had to go through extra testing: write a paper, of all things, and go before a panel consisting of one representing officer from each branch of the armed forces.
It had been grueling to get to this point, but she had sweated it out and worked hard. She had been forced to overcome the limitations of her stature and learn to fight enemies of multiple sizes successfully. Many bumps and bruises, and even fractures, had come her way, but she'd learned and was good at it. Now she was hoping and praying she would get this promotion.
Ever since her father and little sister Amy were killed in an attack orchestrated by Rittenhouse on her father's ship, she had set her mind to becoming captain of her own ship. Everything in her wanted to see Rittenhouse taken down and she was right there at this moment. She was standing on the precipice, ready to step up to the next level of commanding a ship and getting rid of Rittenhouse. Now here she sat, waiting to be called in for the federation panel members to decide if she was qualified to skip commander, go straight to captain and get assigned to her own ship.
The door that led to the hallway at the end of the waiting room that Lucy was in opened. Glancing over, Lucy saw a tall, dark-haired man in a black Galactic & Intergalactic Federation Air Force officer's uniform. She quickly stood, recognizing him as a higher-ranking officer. He nodded as he came over to her and took a seat directly across from hers in an identical row of ten empty chairs.
Lucy sat back down and glanced at her watch, which showed that it was 7:45am. A whole hour and fifteen minutes until the panel review. Looking about the room, she took another peek at him, wondering who he was. His name badge said Flynn, and his insignia revealed that he was a captain. She watched his hand fly over his tablet as he intently typed. Suddenly, he raised his eyes and caught hers. Quickly she looked away, self-consciously smoothing out her skirt.
Lowering his tablet, Flynn looked at the attractive, brunette, officer. She sat ramrod straight, appeared a little nervous and seemed familiar. His eyes went to her name badge. Preston. Ah, she was one of the officers for the panel he was sitting on that day.
"I haven't introduced myself," he said, smiling. Extending his hand, he leaned forward and continued, "I'm Captain Garcia Flynn of the Galactic & Intergalactic Federation Air Force," he leaned forward extending his hand.
She, too, leaned over and, clearing her throat, gave him a slight smile. Placing her hand in his and firmly shaking it, she replied, "Hello. Lt. Commander Lucy Preston of the Mason Federation Navy. Are you on review today?"
He sat back, "I have been before."
Intrigued, Lucy asked, "What happened? If you don't mind me asking."
"Do you mean what got me to the point of being reviewed by the panel or the decision the panel made, after my review?"
Her eyebrows lifted, "Both."
He seemed to think about what he was going to say. "I disobeyed orders and at the last minute, decided to obey them. But, by the time I made the decision to obey, some repercussions had already taken effect, thus, landing me in front of the federation review panel." He splayed his hands, "I got demoted. I wished that I had decided differently that day."
"Sometimes hard decisions have to be made and we can only hope someone else makes them for us."
He chuckled, "That sounds like something your father would have said."
Surprise showed on Lucy's face, "You knew my father?"
"I served under him for a time when I was first training to be a pilot fifteen years ago."
"He was Black Ops then."
He nodded "I was Black Ops, thirty-third division," he smiled, making her blink. The handsome captain continued, "He was a pretty straight forward and funny man."
Lucy returned the smile, "That was dad."
He grew serious, "I was sorry to hear about his death ten years ago. And your sisters."
"Thank you."
They held each other's eyes for a beat and then he stood. "I have to go in now, but it's been nice meeting you, Lt. Commander Preston."
"Likewise, Captain Flynn."
He smiled, extended his hand and she shook it. He left, disappearing through the doors.
Walking through the door, Lucy discovered that the room was a small lecture hall. Down on the lecture floor was one chair. At the front, on a raised platform, was a podium and seven chairs situated around a curved table and facing the one single chair.
"Over this way, please," the young cadet stated as he guided Lucy. He led her down to the lone chair sitting before the seven others. Extending his hand, he silently invited her to sit down. As she took the seat, he inquired, "Would you like any water ma'am?"
"Yes, please."
The cadet left her alone in the room. Lucy wondered many things: Who was on the board; Would they understand that she was ready for this; How long would it take for them to decide her fate; Would she come out a captain with her own ship?
The cadet returned with a glass of water.
"Thank you," she took it from him. Nodding, he exited out the side door. Quickly, she drank half of the glass and choked a little when the doors at the front of the room opened. She sat the glass down on the little table next to her chair as a woman stepped in, whose uniform showed she was the panel moderator. She was soon followed by seven high ranking officers who were a mixture of both Federation. Lucy's eyes widened when she saw that the last person to come in was Captain Flynn. Of course, he was on the panel. Well, she had at least one friend in there...she hoped.
The panel moderator stepped up to the podium. "The Mason, Galactic & Intergalactic Federation Panel Review for Lt. Commander Lucy Preston will now begin."
"Lt. Commander Lucy Preston," a woman who was a general for the Galactic & Intergalactic Army said, "you are here for the review of your Mason Federation Simulation test on which you received a 75% score, placing you near the median for the entire class."
A man who was a Mason admiral of the Marines spoke, "Last year, you took the MFS and failed due to acute paralysis under stress. The simulation showed that your performance cost you the lives of your crew, yourself and the destruction of a federation ship. This year, as my colleague stated, you received a 75%, the lowest score one can receive and still pass. That score is due to the exact same thing: acute paralysis under stress."
The man paused, taking a drink of water and amping up Lucy's nerves in the process. This didn't look like it was going in her favor. Setting his glass down he went on, "Do you wish to refute anything that's being said here today, Lt. Commander Preston?"
Lucy cleared her throat. "I wish to state that I am indeed able to step into the office of captain and command a Mason Federation naval ship. My scores show that I passed. What they don't show is that I have what it takes, inside, to do what needs to be done when the time comes, and I am certain I will not fail."
"I don't doubt that you have what it takes, inside," Flynn acknowledged. "What is being brought into question is, will you be able to let what's inside of you out in times of danger."
Lucy attempted to choose her words carefully, "When the Rittenhouse wars began, my father told me to always stand firm, hold true to my beliefs, and to never give up for what's right. When Rittenhouse took his and my sister's lives, I vowed to stand against them because I believe that's right. I will do everything I can to stop them from their path of destruction and death. Rittenhouse needs to be stopped. I am certain that I am qualified and prepared to become a captain and successfully manage a ship. You will not be disappointed if you were to grant me the office of captain and place a crew under me. I give you my word."
"I understand why you're in a rush to get your own ship, Preston," Flynn said with sincerity. "We all want to stop Rittenhouse. But, to defeat them, we all need to be prepared; to be ready to do what needs to be done at a moment's notice. Your test score reveals where you are, and it clearly shows: you are still not ready."
The panel moderator spoke, "A vote shall be taken in regard to the allowance of Lt. Commander Preston to step into the office of captain and command a ship."
Lucy tried to conceal her shaking hands. So close. So close to finally getting to where she wanted to be, fighting against Rittenhouse. It was all she strived for because they were responsible for her father's and sister's deaths. She had to get this yet all the panelists had to be in agreement. If one vote was in her favor, she would have to go up for this panel again a month from now but at least she wouldn't have to start over and wait an entire year. Her eyes went to Flynn's as he looked up; his intense gaze held hers until she finally looked away and finished her water.
Several nerve-racking minutes later, the moderator spoke, "The votes have been cast."
The Mason marine admiral stood, "By the Mason, Galactic & Intergalactic Federation, it has been decided this day that Lt. Commander Lucy Preston is denied office of captain in the Mason Federation Navy." Lucy's heart sunk into her stomach as he continued, "You will be eligible again upon successful retesting and passing of the Mason Federation Simulation test for next year. Lt. Commander Preston, you are dismissed."
And that was it.
Numbness went through her as the panel stood. Lucy came back to herself and noticed that they were all standing, waiting for her to get up and leave. Rising, she stole another look at the captain, who actually looked sorry, but all she could do was give him a hard look back. She was devastated, but she wasn't going to let it show.
Despite all that happened that would day, she had eventually come to realize that Flynn had been right. She hadn't been ready. The extra year had done her a lot of good and she had passed the MST at the top of the class. Now, the idea of capturing him and handing him over to Rittenhouse as some sort of peace offering didn't sit well. She knew he was against Rittenhouse just as much as anyone else. But the Federation made their decision.
And she had her orders.
