"Sir, we're getting a heavily encrypted message from the Gemini. It's for your eyes only."

"Route it to my office," Lusus responded.

Lusus locked the door to his office and ordered the computer to activate privace mode.

"Lusus," The recording began, "I think the Andromeda suspects something. Her android body had a direct interface with the ship. I managed to destroy the avatar without raising any more suspicion, but she'll want to try something else soon. I think it's time for us to make our move. I can use the Gemini to bring down that old-style Terran battleship they've been using, and I assume you've got a plan for taking out the Andromeda. The only other ship they've got is that artillary ship and some Alorian frigates. Your fleet shouldn't have much trouble with them. I'm forwarding an intelligence file to you with all the information I've gathered, and everything I could extract from the Android. I plan on taking an escape pod and leaving the Gemini in eight hours. I'll be in orbit of the second moon when you arive to pick me up. I miss you, but if you ever send me on a mission with a bunch of Kludges again, you're a dead man," The image on the screen smiled jokingly, "Gem out."

The genetically modified captain began to concentrate, and after a moment he saw flashes of the future. Now, he could plan for every contingency, every alternative. Precognition had taken him off guard at first, but he was starting to master it, and it had already proven to be a very useful tool. Unfortunately, he couldn't add those genes to his pilot. The ability to see the future, such as it was, interfered with the instincts needed for slip piloting. Nevertheless, Lusus considered the loss well worth this new ability.

Once he had carefully examined every possibility, Lusus immediately returned to the bridge and made preparations for the attack. In mere minutes, his fleet would be traveling through the slipstream. They would intercept the Andromeda and capture it, crushing the New Commonwealth and greatly enhancing his fleet at the same time. The plan couldn't fail…not unless…

He put the thought of defeat out of his mind. The probability of those events happening together were a billion to one. He couldn't take the time to prepare for such a minute possibility with the Andromeda nearly ready to discover the Gemini's ruse.

***

"Where are you going?" Tyr walked over to the escape pod.

"Are you questioning a superior officer, crewman?" Gem looked at him coldly.

"I'm looking out for my own survival," Tyr responded, locking her eyes with his, "You're the ship's avatar. I'm forced to trust my life to you."

"If you must know," Gem sounded annoyed, "I'm going to the Andromeda to work directly with Captain Hunt."

"That's a long term escape pod," Tyr observed, "It isn't efficient for a short trip. You're going somewhere else, aren't you."

"Stand down, crewman," Gem ordered.

"I'd like an answer to that, too," Captain Pellings stepped out from the shadows. Gem had been too preoccupied to notice her approach.

"Captain," Gem paused, "I wanted to run maintanance on the pod while I was out. I know it isn't normal procedure, but it seemed to be the most efficient course of action."

"So why didn't you get my approval for this little side trip?"

"I thought time was of the essense. You see," Gem explained as she took a step closer to her commanding officer, "Lusus is already on his way to kill you all, and I don't want to be around when he gets here."

"Security!" Pellings called out, but she was too late. Gem extended her force lance and tripped Tyr. She then dragged the Captain into the pod and ejected.

***

Kyn looked at the viewscreen while Mert stood nearby, occasionally looking up to give the Neitzchian a bloodthirsty glare.

"We're approaching the combat zone," The navigator explained.

"Battle stations," Lusus ordered evenly.

"Raptor Pride," Kyn spoke through the comm link, "Take wing position. Make sure the Gemini ID's the Kapth before you move in. All weapons officers, double check your targets. Only hit the Terran ships. If you hit one of the High Guard cruisers without my direct order, you can say goodbye to procreation."

Simultaneously, Mert spoke to his second in hushed tones, "Starburst formation. Come in directly behind the Kapth. I'll tell you if we need backup. Get the troops ready for a full-scale landing, but don't move a single pod until I give the order."

The fleet exited the slipstream at the pre-determined location, "We'll have target resolution in four minutes."

"Hail the Andromeda," Lusus commanded.

"Captain Naturae," The High Guard captain said, "I hope you're here to negotiate. As you can see, we have enough ships here to match your fleet."

"You know, that reminds me of something my mother used to chant for me to help me sleep. I believe it was called 'Battlefury.' Perhaps you're familiar with it?"

"We've heard of it," Dylan responded, suspiciously.

"What was that word in the chorus? Oh yes," Lusus paused, a look of smug superiority came over his face, "Blitzkrieg!"

"Dylan!" Andromeda called out as her holographic form vanished.

The captain turned as he heard a force lance powering up behind him.

"By the way, I took the liberty of replacing your first officer with a clone. I hope you like the new model."

The clone held a force lance in each hand, keeping Dylan and Harper from trying anything, "Put your weapons on the ground, then get into the storage room…now!"

The two crewmen looked at eachother, but reluctantly did as she ordered. Once she had locked them in the closet, she walked to the center of the bridge, "The Andromeda is secure."

"Well done," Lusus responded, "Stand by while we handle the rest of the ships."

"Captain," I'm detecting a ship coming out of the slipstream.

"What?"

"It's High Guard. Looks like a Dreadnought class deterrence battle cruiser. Primary weapon: Class 15 heavy AP cannon. Additional weapons: 120 AFM turrets, 30 high yield missle turrets, 75 anti-ship missle launchers, seven torpedo tubes, and eleven general purpose warhead launchers."

"All those missles, and it's primary weapon is a single AP cannon?" Mert wondered.

"It's a class 15 heavy cannon," Kyn said, "I faced a Dreadnought before. The High Guard used them to break up blockades. See the massive aperture on the front of the vessel? That's the AP cannon. It has a 10,000 isoton yield, and it'll blast a hole through the Kapth the size of a Nightsider nest."

"This can't be!" Lusus hissed, "Mert, send all your fighters. We'll overwhelm them with numbers."

"They have over a hundred anti-fighter missle turrets. I can't overwhelm that."

"We should retreat, now," Kyn took a step toward him.

"No, this is a trick, it must be. They couldn't have a Dreadnought without our operatives discovering it. Send all ships to intercept. We have to call their bluff."

"It is just as Trance warned me," Kyn declared, "You want us to waste our ships against that thing. Once it's over, your ship will be the only one in any condition to fight. You'll waltz in and claim whatever survives the firefight."

"No, you don't understand…" Lusus was becoming desparate.

***

"Gem!" Rommie sat bolt upright, "Dylan? Harper? Beka?"

She was alone in the machine shop, and the ship's AI had been deactivated. Her internal nanobots must have repaired the neural damage. If they survived this, she'd have to thank Harper for her updated regenerative systems. At the moment though, she had to get to the bridge and warn the crew about the Gemini, if it wasn't already too late…

As she was about to enter the bridge, she decided to quickly check for lifesigns and crew locations. Lusus would probably have turned off the AI in order to invade the ship. As she manipulated the controls for the hall panel, she noted that there were no unidentified organics aboard, but Harper and Dylan were in the storage closet at the back of the bridge. Only Beka was at the controls. Suddenly, she knew what must have happened.

"Step away from the control panel," Rommie ordered as she walked onto the bridge, her force lance at the ready.

Beka whirled around, "Rommie, you're alright! I could use some help…"

"I know you locked up Dylan and Harper. I don't know if you've been brainwashed, or if you're an android, or what, but if you don't step away from the panel, I will kill you."

Beka reached for her force lance. Almost reflexively, Rommie fired. The effecter struck home, throwing Beka to the ground. Rommie ran over to unlock the closet, then immediately went to check on the injured first officer.

"The clone got High Guard command codes somehow," Harper explained hurriedly as he worked on one of the panels, "I can re-initiate it from here."

The bridge lighting brightened as Andromeda's hologram appeared on the bridge, "I'm detecting another High Guard ship in the area. It's a deterrence battle cruiser, Dreadnought class. He's identifying himself as the Impervious Fortitude."

"Dreadnought class?" Dylan called up an image on the view screen, "That… isn't possible."

"Hey," Harper looked over at the sensor data, "It looks like a couple of escape pods just came out of the Kapth."

"Only a couple?" Dylan asked.

"The Magog fleet…" Rommie looked up from the clone, "They're attacking the Kapth."

"How long were we in that closet?" Harper was amazed, "Did we hit some kind of temporal phenomenon?"

"I wish I knew," Dylan shook his head.

An explosion lit up the viewscreen, then two fleets headed into the slipstream.

"The Kapth has been destroyed, and all hostile ships are moving off," Andromeda explained.

"It's a miracle," Dylan was dumbstruck.

"Wait…" Andromeda's hologram appeared even more confused, "The Fortitude, it…dissappeared."

"Disappeared?" Dylan echoed.

"Dylan, she's dying," Rommie turned from the fallen clone.

"Harper, help get her to med deck," Dylan ordered.

"Are you crazy? She tried to kill us," Harper objected.

"I'm not letting her off," Dylan responded, "But we can't let her die."

"Why not? She was ready to give us to the Magog."

"I know you're upset about Beka, but she's probably still alive out there. Right now, we have an injured person to worry about."

"She's a clone."

"She's still a human being, and we have to take care of her."

"Harper," Rommie looked up at him, "Please."

"Alright," Harper acquiesced, "But I expect to get some answers from her as soon as she wakes up."

Together, Rommie and Harper carefully lifted Beka's clone and carried her off the bridge.

"Dylan, the Gemini is hailing us," A hologram stated.

"About time," Dylan muttered, "On screen."

"Captain Hunt," Commander Fredricks saluted.

"Commander," Dylan returned the salute, "Where's Captain Pellings?"

"There are a lot of things we need to explain, but even I'm not sure exactly what happened. I'll let Gemini's AI explain…"