Callisto Orbit – 1620 Hours, Earth Time Callisto Orbit – 1620 Hours, Earth Time

The battle line had been drawn. The Earth fleet was assembling, heavy ships in the front, carriers in the rear, missile ships taking top and bottom positions. Based on latest intelligence, the enemy was half an hour away from Callisto, and this time the Earth fleet wasn't going to be picked off coming out of warp. Fighters were on standby, and shock cannons were ready. Ships that were equipped with wave motion cartridge guns had them loaded and ready.

Derek, however, had an alternate plan ready. There were just too many things that could go wrong here, and he didn't want to be caught off-guard.

"Sir, you did run this by command, right?" Rosen had asked him this three times.

"You know my history of following orders, Rosen," Derek had finally answered.

"That's precisely why I am asking." Derek offered no further reply, so Rosen went over his checklist again. The crew was ready and the ship was capable, but he didn't know this new captain. Sure, everyone knew of the great Derek Wildstar – he and the Star Force had saved Earth many times, but he also had a habit of doing things his own way. Rosen hoped that when things got hairy, this Commodore could be counted on to put his crew first. Wildstar had been sending coded transmissions between four other heavy ships and two missile ships, which it itself wasn't unusual, but Captain Valsoris always included Rosen in on his plans. Rosen wasn't used to being kept in the dark, and he didn't like it.

"Sir! We've got radio contact from the flagship." The communications officer broke Rosen's thoughts. He and Derek both looked forward to see what was happening.

"Go ahead," Rosen ordered.

"Enemy spotted four hundred megameters from Io, headed for Callisto. Estimate radar contact in twelve minutes."

Rosen looked back at Derek, who simply nodded. Rosen turned back to the communications officer. "Send back our acknowledgement." He turned to Derek and said, "So it begins."

Derek was looking down at his console. "Scared?" Derek asked quietly.

"Not a bit," Rosen said proudly.

"You should be," Derek said without looking up. "We don't know anything at all about this enemy. We don't know their capabilities, their home world, their firepower, their strengths, their weaknesses, nothing. Rosen, you've got a good service record, and I couldn't ask for a better combat chief, but if you were smart, you'd be scared."

"Sir, I-"

"Did you study Captain Gideon's battle against the Comet Empire fleet at Titan?"

"Of course. It's required reading at the academy."

Academy indeed. "Do you know what Captain Gideon's mistake was?"

"Mistake? He… he didn't make any mistakes. He was simply overwhelmed by a superior force."

"Bullshit. Maybe they don't like to admit that our great Captains are capable of making mistakes, but I'll give you a little piece of information. He underestimated his opponent. First he thought that a large battle fleet with the latest technology guaranteed him a victory, and by simply adding more ships, he could take on anything Zordar threw at us. He quickly learned that he was wrong. Then he assumed that once he gained the upper hand, it would be easy to keep it. He found a weakness, and he exploited it, and then Zordar showed up with the Comet Empire fortress and he blew the living shit out of the remainder of the Earth Defense fleet. Gideon didn't realize where the weakness of the fortress was until he didn't have enough ships left to do anything about it, and the Argo was too badly damaged to take up the fight. We were too busy tending to our wounded to defend ourselves, so it was lucky that we were too far away from the battle to be noticed. Fortunately Captain Gideon still had a working radio so he could let us know what he had learned before the Andromeda went down."

Derek stood and leaned on his console, staring down at Rosen. "Draco Gideon was a great man, and a great Captain, but his mistake was his pride. Never let pride dictate your actions. We have a great crew here, and our technology has improved over the years, but if that enemy outguns us and outnumbers us, we're still in for a hell of a fight. End of lesson. Report to your post."

"Yes sir." Rosen didn't quite know what to make of Derek's little speech, but he saluted and went to his station.

Derek looked up towards the window and looked out towards the stars. And this time, we aren't going to have some willowy space goddess to bail us out.

"Attention all ships, this is the Massachusetts, Commodore Tiala speaking. The enemy is in radar range, and will be in missile range in 2 minutes, shock cannon range in 5 minutes. Remember that they have a longer range than we do, so keep moving! All ships make ready to open fire. We aren't going to get a second chance at this, so no mistakes! All carriers launch torpedo planes and fighters. Heavy bombers make ready. Tiala out."

This was Commodore Sherman Tiala's first fleet command, and he tried not to let it show that he was nervous. He knew that Commodore Wildstar was onboard the Hercules, and by all rights, he should be calling the shots here, but for some reason, the duty fell to Commodore Tiala. He didn't ask why, he simply accepted the job.

Derek looked back down at the bridge crew. "You heard him, guys, snap to! Gunnery units, you should have your coordinates by now! Missile tubes make ready!" Derek typed out a few commands on his console, sending some coded signals to several other ships. In a minute, replies came back in the affirmative, followed by a transmission from another fleet. Derek smiled. As he looked up, the sounds of cannon fire could be heard all around him, and his own ship began to vibrate. The battle had begun.

War Room, Earth Defense Headquarters – 1645 Hours

"Message from the Massachusetts – they have engaged the enemy. Repeat: they have engaged the enemy."

"I see." General Singleton looked up at the chart of Jupiter and its moons. Then he looked over at Nova, who was sitting behind a plate glass window in a viewing area. She had arrived a few minutes earlier and was noticeably worried. He couldn't blame her, not being able to see Wildstar before he was shipped off in such a hurry. There were hundreds of men and women up there, all fighting for the safety of Earth, but Singleton's thoughts kept going back to Derek Wildstar. He was certainly one of the most accomplished and decorated Captains up there, and if it were entirely up to him, Wildstar would have been commanding that fleet, but the defense ministry decided that Wildstar was just too headstrong for the position. Perhaps if he didn't have such a long history of disobeying orders…

"Commander?"

"Hmm? Oh, it's you, Stone."

"Commander, I asked you if we had heard anything from the Garuman fleet that's been following the enemy."

"Not to my knowledge, no. They've been silent since their initial offer to assist. We've made a few attempts to contact General Hizak, but he has chosen not to reply."

"Why offer assistance and then give us static?"

"Can you blame him? He offers to help us, and Captain Reynolds tries to fire on him! Some gratitude we showed him. I'm surprised the fleet didn't turn around and go home."

"Well then what ARE they doing?" Stone pointed to the Garuman fleet. "See? Our fleet is here, engaged with the enemy, but the Garumans are here, off to the side. Watching us get slaughtered? Waiting for our fleet to get picked off, so they can come in and-"

"Stone, you're being ridiculous. We aren't at war with the Garuman Empire." Singleton turned back and stared at the monitor. But you do have a point, Stone. What are you up to, Hizak?

Callisto – 1705 Hours, Earth Time

"Johannesburg, on your left! Watch for-"

"This is the Enterprise! We've taken heavy fire! Our engine has-"

"Missile ship Thomas Paine to any nearby fighters! Please provide cover! Our tubes are dry; we need cover so we can warp to safety. We need-"

The calls kept flying back and forth – ships begging for help, but not receiving it in time. The fleet was down to maybe half of its original number. As before, the enemy was taking out the Earth battle fleet before the Earth ships could get close enough to fire. A few of the Earth ships tried to line up to strike with wave motion guns, but this was an obvious tactic and the ship was shot out of the sky before the gun could reach 30 power. The fighters just couldn't cover all the ships, and the missile ships were running out of armament. They didn't seem to be having much of an effect on the number of enemy ships.

"Okay, I think we've had enough of this." Derek picked up a comlink. "General Hizak, are you ready?"

Rosen looked up at Derek. "Who is General Hizak?" Derek held up a hand.

A voice came back over the speakers. "We are ready, Commodore. We are sending coordinates to you now. Bring your ships in. Hizak, out."

Derek watched his console, then tapped a few buttons. "Helm, I am sending you some new coordinates. Take us there at best possible speed."

The navigator looked at his display, then said, "Sir, that's next to the Garuman fleet."

"I'm aware of that. We'll be joined by six other ships. You have your orders."

"Aye aye, sir." The Hercules began to break away from the battle, and was shortly followed by six other ships. Almost immediately, Commodore Tiala's voice squeaked over the bridge speakers.

"Commodore Wildstar! You're leaving the battle? Where are you going?"

"To change the outcome of this fight."

"You're defecting to the Garuman Empire?"

"Not hardly. Just enlisting their services. Hercules out."

Rosen ran up to Derek. "I hope you know what you are doing."

"That makes two of us," Derek mumbled.

War Room, Earth Defense Headquarters – 1725 Hours

"Message from the Massachusetts: seven ships are leaving the battle!"

"What??" General Stone ran up to the communications officer. "Which ones?"

"The Liberty, the Archimedes, the Forrest Sherman, the Hawk, the Babylon, the Perseus, and the Hercules."

"WILDSTAR!!"

"Calm down, Stone, we don't know that he's got anything to do with this." Singleton motioned up towards the viewing area where Nova was watching the monitors. "Show some decorum, will you?"

"Commander, I know he's behind this. It has his name written all over it. You go look up mutiny in the military code of ethics and his picture is right there." General Stone turned to the communications officer. "Radio the Massachusetts – who's the mastermind behind this little insurrection?"

Callisto – 1745 Hours, Earth Time

"Commander Shir'Pa, seven of their ships are heading away from the fighting."

"Retreating? The cowards." Shir'Pa grinned, and he cracked his knuckles loudly.

"Shall we send pursuit craft? They appear to be joining the Garuman ships that were following us."

"Those Garumans kept their distance, but they are beginning to bore me. Destroy them all."

"Yes, Commander." The orders were sent to the escort craft, and twelve pursuit ships sped after Derek's miniature fleet.

"Good, exactly as I predicted. They don't see us as much of a threat, but they don't want us to get away either." Derek was watching the incoming ships.

"I don't understand, sir."

"Of course you don't, Lieutenant, that's because you've been fighting simulators. Take a good look at the radar, what do you notice about the large enemy ship in the center?"

"It's half the size of a Gorba fortress, it has cannons the size of a small city, and it's pounding the snot out of the Massachusetts and the Alexandria."

"Besides that."

Rosen stared at the enemy ship for a few seconds, then said, "Ahhh, her rear is unprotected."

"Now you're thinking. I'm assuming that to be their flagship. It's the largest, most powerful, most heavily protected, and it's been staying pretty far out of the battle. But they've left the rear unguarded."

"But sir, how can we possibly exploit that? The only way to get around her is through those escort ships. If we so much as approach her, those heavy guns will wipe us out."

"That's why we're heading for the Garumans. They have something we need."

"I'm not sure what you're talking about, Commodore."

"Then you didn't take Gamilon Battle Tactics 101."

"It's no longer a required class."

"Pity. I could teach that class. Oh well. Helm, time to rendezvous point?"

"30 seconds, sir."

"Excellent. All hands, man your posts." Derek flipped a switch. "General Hizak, looks like our plan worked, but you've got 12 inbounds to deal with once we're out of here."

"Leave them to us, Commodore Wildstar. Once your ships are in position, please report your readiness to proceed. Hizak out."

Derek chuckled. "Chatty guy, isn't he?" He watched the radar, using the display configuration that Hizak had given to him. Within a minute, all seven ships were inside the cone shaped area. He typed a message on his console, sent to all ships, and got affirmatives back.

"Enemy ships are almost in range, sir!" Rosen called out.

"That's okay. We won't be here when they start firing. Have all guns ready to fire on my mark." Derek switched to the Garuman's frequency again, and sent a message to Hizak. "General, we're ready. Activate the SMITE."

"SMITE activation in five seconds, Commodore Wildstar. There will be a moment of disorientation, not unlike going through warp. When you rematerialize, you will be directly behind the enemy's flagship. Good luck, Commdore. Desslar Soto Banzai!" When the comlink went dead, everything went white, and Derek had a sinking empty feeling that went from his stomach all the way to his feet. In a few seconds, the feeling passed, and he was staring at the back of the enemy flagship.

"Fire!" he heard himself saying. He hoped his crew was alert enough to carry out the order.

His crew was, and so were the crews of the other six ships. Shock cannons and missiles began flying towards the unprotected rear of the enemy's flagship. In the distance, Derek could make out a battle between the Garumans and the twelve pursuit ships abruptly cut short as the enemy ships withdrew, apparently being called back to the flagship for additional support. The rear guns of the Voracious were already wiped out by cannon fire, and the support ships were still in the middle of a spin as the missile ships began pounding at them to keep them out of the battle. They were circling around for another pass as a deafening screech came over all the ships' loudspeakers. All across the battlefield, the firing suddenly stopped as a high pitched voice forced its way into the Earth Defense fleet battlenet.

"I WISH TO SPEAK WITH THE ONE WHO DARES TO ATTACK ME FROM BEHIND. WHO WOULD USE SUCH A SHAMEFUL TACTIC?"

The screeching stopped, and the communications channel cleared. The enemy stopped attacking, and all ships stopped moving. Commodore Tiala sent an order for all ships to hold their position and cease fire until further instructions; he hoped that Wildstar would do the same.

Derek was smiling. "So, we finally got your attention, eh?" He flipped a switch, picked up a microphone, and said, "I wish to speak with the one who dares attack us without provocation. Who would use such a shameful tactic?"

The video screen lit up, and there were gasps as a green insectoid figure stared down at them. He stood up and waved his upper right arm for effect as he spoke. "I am Commander Shir'Pa of the Voracious, flagship of the 7th Battle Fleet. We are not attacking you without provocation, trust me on that. It is YOU who struck the first blow! Now, I ask again, to whom do I speak?"

"I am Commodore Derek Wildstar of the Hercules. What do you mean, we struck the first blow? As far as I know, we've never met before."

"Perhaps not you personally, Commodore Derek Wildstar, but those from your solar system. Specifically, they come from your third planet, where we were headed before we were so rudely interrupted. A group of savages invaded our galactic system years ago and destroyed it utterly. Our home world was devastated, as were many other planets. Can you possibly imagine the destruction of an entire galaxy? It seems impossible, but it happened, and it crippled us. Now, we demand retribution!"

"Commander, perhaps you are mistaking us for the Comet Empire. Prince Zordar destroyed and enslaved many worlds on his way to Earth, but he was stopped. Prior to your attack on our fleet, we had no quarrel with you."

Shir'Pa laughed; at least, Derek assumed that the hissing and clicking sound coming from Shir'Pa was a laugh. "The Comet Empire was nothing compared to what we are. Do you think the balance of power in the galaxy was affected at all when Zordar was defeated?" Shir'Pa suddenly got closer to the viewer. "Tell me something, Commodore Derek Wildstar. Why do you have the remains of a battleship in orbit around the third planet?"

"It's a memorial. The Yamato was a great ship that saved Earth many times."

Shir'Pa drew back and screamed. "The Yamato! The Yamato destroyed our galaxy and scattered our people! That ship and its crew will be destroyed! The head of its captain will be brought home as a war trophy! Your people will-"

Derek had heard enough. "Main viewer off!" The display went blank.

The communications officer looked up at Derek. "What did he mean?"

Derek shrugged. "Haven't a clue. If he calls back though, we're not home." The bridge shook as cannon fire from the escort ships pummeled it from all sides.

"Sir? I think he's calling back."

"Okay, fine, some people just can't take no for an answer. Order all ships to open fire. Any ship equipped with a wave motion gun, take out the Voracious. Open a channel to the Massachusetts."

"Wildstar!" Tiala's face appeared on the view screen.

Derek looked up at Sherman. "You get all that, Tiala?"

"Yeah, I saw it. What the hell was he talking about?"

"I have no idea. I think he's slightly confused."

"That makes him dangerous. I'm ordering everyone to target the flagship. With luck, the rest of the fleet will turn tail and leave."

"I wouldn't count on that, but they should be easier to clean up without those giant guns firing at us."

"Let's hope so. Tiala out." The display went dark.

"Commodore, wave guns are at 75 of capacity." Rosen was at his station, and his hand was on the firing trigger. "Safety goggles on, folks." Everyone was grabbing safety goggles from their storage locations under their consoles. Derek reached under his console, found a pair, and slapped them over his eyes. "Josh, warn the other ships that we're about to fire. Maybe they can coordinate their spread."

"You got it." The communications officer started calling other ships to coordinate the attack.

"Ten seconds," Rosen called out.

Derek stared out at the Voracious. What did Shir'Pa mean? The Yamato destroyed his world? An entire galaxy? How? The only world the Yamato had destroyed was Dezarium, and Shir'Pa didn't look like a Black Nebulan.

The 'click' of the trigger shook him out of his thoughts, and the ship rumbled as the wave guns fired. The Massachusetts, Gdansk, Archimedes, Hawk, and the Perseus fired their wave guns within a few seconds of each other. The Voracious tried to change direction and pull away, but was struck from two different directions. The impacts knocked it off course, and it spun away from the attackers. It continued to fire, but did not seem to have any form of helm control.

A radio message came out to all ships from Commodore Tiala. "All ships clear away from the battlefield. If that thing explodes, it's going to take out everything around it!" The fleet began to clear away as the Voracious began to spin around in circles. It finally turned towards deep space and its engines started to whine.

"He's going to make a run for it!" Rosen shouted.

Suddenly there was a blast of energy from the Alexandria's wave gun, which struck the Voracious near the starboard engine pods. The explosion tore a hole in the starboard side of the ship, knocking it in a fast spin. Suddenly the engines flared, and the ship tore through space – and tumbled into Jupiter. There were cheers throughout the fleet, as the remaining ships either disappeared into warp gates or were shot down in the confusion.

A voice broke out over the cheering. Captain Kinder of the Alexandria said, "Sorry I'm late folks! My combat chief was napping!" Laughter could be heard from his bridge, then, "Can we go home now?"

Derek sat down and dabbed at his forehead with his sleeve. "Okay guys, let's rejoin the fleet. I think we're done here."

The Wildstar Residence – three days later, 0950 hours

"Hurry up, Derek! You're going to be late!" Nova was shouting up the stairs to her husband. He had a meeting with high command in an hour, but he couldn't seem to get his act together this morning. The last few days had been spent analyzing the "Battle of Callisto" as it was now being called, and there were rumors of some new information from the Garuman Empire. This was a meeting he did NOT want to miss.

"Okay!" he ran down the steps and into the kitchen. Breakfast was cold, but he gobbled down an egg and some sausages as he guzzled his coffee. He made a mock "ick" face as he drank the coffee, to which Nova responded with her usual stuck out tongue. He kissed the tip of her tongue and ran out the door. He hopped into his car and sped off towards the city, almost not clearing the fence at the end of the driveway as he shot over it.

EDF High Command – 1105 hours

A tape of the high points of the battle was being shown, with Sandor and some guy named Dystra narrating. Special mention was made of the Garuman's participation at the end of the battle, as the seven ships were teleported behind the Voracious. The conversation between Shir'Pa and Wildstar was played, then the Voracious was shown caught in Jupiter's gravity.

Sandor stood up and hit a button on his remote, which raised the lights in the room. "Based on the wreckage we found, we don't think anyone survived. We found several thousand mangled bodies, some of which were brought back for study. I should have the results in a day or two."

Dystra chimed in, "We are also going through their ship for anything that can tell us more about them."

There were a few minutes of mumbling and whispering between the generals, then finally General Stone cleared his throat. "It is my understanding that we have an emissary from the Garuman Empire here, to address this council." He turned to the guard by the door and nodded. The guard left the room, then returned with two tall blue-skinned men. Stone looked up at the Garumans, and said, "Ah, yes, gentlemen. Allow me to welcome you to Earth Defense Headquarters." Derek didn't know if the Garumans were fooled by that greeting, but Derek knew that Stone was nervous about this.

"Thank you, General Stone. It is an honor to be one of the first to set foot on your world." Stone looked even more uncomfortable at the words "one of the first." The one who spoke turned and addressed the rest of the room. "My name is Dormon, and this is my bodyguard, Haus. I am here to present information from our scout teams." There was some nodding and murmuring. No one seemed willing to speak out loud to the Garumans. Stone motioned towards an empty chair, which Dormon accepted. Haus took position behind Dorman, not saying a word.

"Thank you, General. As you all know, the Sol Battle Fleet assisted your Earth Fleet near Callisto. After the battle, several of our ships tracked the enemy fleet back to their staging base. We were able to capture one of their ships undamaged, and gathered some information from their computer. We make this information available to the Earth Defense Force as a gesture of peace." Several blank stares, then Dormon added, "This order comes from Emperor Desslok himself."

Sandor was the first to speak. "What is it you were able to learn, Dormon?"

"The beings you are fighting are known as the Pri'Tan, and are currently located on several planets and space stations surrounding the star you call Sirius. They are building battleships as fast as they can. Based on the data we retrieved, they are planning a major offensive in six of your months. They currently have the firepower to completely destroy your planet. Their technology is superior to your own. In a direct offensive, you don't stand a chance."

Gasps around the room, followed by more mumbling. von Drach leaned over and peered at Dormon. "We held our own at Callisto. What makes you think we can't hold off more of them?"

"General, you lost more than half your fleet at Callisto, and you would have been wiped out if not for our assistance. There is nothing on which to base such foolish pride. They will simply come in larger numbers, and they will now be expecting such a tactic. It won't work a second time - not that they would give you the chance to use it. Your people will be wiped out."

von Drach scoffed. "I seem to recall your Emperor trying to do much the same thing ten years ago. How do we know this isn't another Gamilon attack? You're sending us off on a bug hunt; meanwhile you're landing your cruisers in the front lawn of the Presidential Estate! Why should we trust you?"

"I expected that question. Yes, my people did try to take over your world. That is not under dispute, nor is it relevant to this discussion. What is important here is that unless you stop the Pri'Tan, they will kill every one of you."

"That doesn't answer my question," von Drach countered.

"So why are you here?" General Marcus interrupted.

"I am here to offer the assistance of the Garuman Empire."

Silence.

"Emperor Desslok is on his way to Earth. He will address you directly, if that is your wish."

Stone choked. "Desslok is coming HERE?"

Dormon nodded. "He wishes to speak to your leaders face to face as a sign of good faith."

General Marcus turned to Derek and said, "You met Desslok, both as enemies and as friends. Does this sound like something that he would do? Can we trust this?"

Derek was a bit surprised that anyone was asking his opinion, but he rolled the question around in his head for a moment. "From what I know of Desslok, he wouldn't leave himself vulnerable unless he was sincere. If he is coming here, he knows that we could easily take him prisoner and try him for war crimes. He is counting on us realizing that he wouldn't put himself at that kind of risk unless it was important. I think we should listen to what he has to say, and take the Garumans at their word. Sir."

More murmuring, then Stone turned to Dormon. "We will have to think this over, naturally. You are welcome to stay here until we come to a decision."

"Thank you, General, but I will be returning to my ship. I trust you understand."

He doesn't want anyone taking a shot at him, thought Derek. There are a lot of people on Earth who would give anything for a chance to kill a Garuman.

"Of course," replied Stone. "Unless you have anything further to tell us…"

Dormon shook his head. "That is all I am at liberty to share with you. Emperor Desslok will have more information when he arrives in seven of your Earth days. At that time, he will meet with your President and his military advisors." Dormon said this matter-of-factly, as if the President had already agreed to the meeting. Dormon stood and his bodyguard backed away towards the door. "If that is all, then I shall take my leave."

"Of course. Thank you, Dormon." Stone nodded to the guard, who escorted the two Garumans out of the room.

EDF HQ Cafeteria, 1215 hours

Sandor leaned back in his chair. "Well, that was certainly unexpected."

Derek was chewing a cracker and thinking. For Desslok to leave the safety of his Empire and come to Earth, the stakes had to be pretty high. "Ten years ago, Desslok tried to conquer Earth. Now he's coming here to help us. Yes, I'd say that ranks pretty high on the Strange Meter."

"It wouldn't be the first time he's offered his assistance, but never in an official capacity." This was true; Desslok was willing to die to protect Starsha from a Black Nebula Empire landing party, then later he destroyed Emperor Lugarl's fleet so the Yamato could continue to Earth unmolested.

With a laugh, Derek added, "Maybe he'll lend you a scientist or two to work out the bugs in your SMITE design."

"Fat chance. There weren't enough parts left of the Prometheus to fill a wash basin, and they aren't going to let us rebuild her. Our focus is on Project Phoenix right now."

"What's Project Phoenix"

"Sorry, can't tell you. Not yet," Sandor said. "You'll find out eventually."

"Great, one more thing to worry about," Derek grinned.