Chapter 34 - Eye of the Storm
Valley Forge, Sickbay Four
The young girl in the white fur, the same one that had warned him and haunted his dreams, smiled up at him then began to fade out. All to soon, she was totally gone, leaving Ulysses alone in the darkness. But even the darkness began to fade, growing brighter and brighter.
Ulysses biological eye fluttered open as consciousness forced it's way through the thick shroud of darkness.
"Welcome back into the land of the living Uly." A soft voice said from beside him. It took him a moment to focus on its source, his eye blinking a few times to help clear its vision.
"Anna?" His voice cracked, as if starting afresh from long disuse.
"Yes Uly, it's me." There was relief in her voice. "How do you feel?"
"Not that bad actually. I assume that I have you're expertise to thank for that?" His voice became closer to normal the more he used it. Ulysses tried to sit up, but moved to fast. The room swam and his arms went rubbery. He allowed himself to fall back down to the padded biobed with a small groan. The room continued to wobble and he felt like he was in a tumble, but it gradually subsided.
"Slowly, Uly, slowly." Anna said, placing a restraining hand lightly on his chest. "You took a nasty couple of bumps on the head and have been out for close to three days now."
"Three. DAYS?!?" Ulysses said in a forceful whisper, startled that he had been out of it for so long.
"Yes. It was touch and go there for a while, but you're a fighter, just like you've always been. I wasn't able to save your cybernetic eyepiece, it was too damaged. The major trauma was from a boulder you fell on after the hydrogen explosion threw you for a loop. There were times where I thought you stayed with us just because you were too stubborn to let go."
"Or you were too stubborn to let me give up. Thank you, Anna. For. for everything. For patching me back together. For being my friend when I needed you to be. Just. everything."
In the muted lighting of the Sickbay, Ulysses swore that Anna's fair skin turned a few shades darker. Then she spoke with a strange tone in her voice. "And thank you Uly, for staying with us." Then she leaned down and kissed him lightly on the lips. Contact was broken near instantly, but the passion of it left Ulysses head swimming. Now it was his turn to blush, eyes showing surprise. But Anna was already walking across the Sickbay. "There are some others that are eager to see you up and about again, and I think I've kept them waiting about long enough." She said over her shoulder.
Ulysses slowly managed to rise to a sitting position and swing his legs around to let them dangle off the side of the biobed. Surely she didn't feel THAT way about him?! This was something that was going to require more thought and searching of his own feelings on the matter. He wasn't certain that he was ready to take things to the next level if that was where she was leading. But that would have to wait. The Sickbay doors swooshed open, admitting P'tel and Clay Heidberg.
"Skipper!" Clay said. "Good to see you up and about again. You really had us worried there for a while." There was a look of mild concern and anger on his face as he took in the mess of Ulysses left eye socket. The ruined ocular implant couldn't be replaced with local resources. It would require a trip to the core worlds where a specialist could stick on a new customized eyepiece.
"Admiral." P'tel said from behind her customary Vulcan mask of non-emotion, but Ulysses swore he saw something much akin to joy flash in her eyes.
"Good to see you all again to, all three of you." Ulysses said pausing a beat with a smile before continuing. "Can someone tell me what happened? The last thing I remember was flying through the air."
P'tel proceeded to tell him what the Marines had done to save him.
"Make sure they all get my recommendation for a medal. Especially that Assault Shuttle's pilot and crew. It was their quick action that got them there soon enough." Ulysses said. "So what else has happened in my absence?"
"Only one major incident Admiral." P'tel said. "We received a distress call from an Imperial vessel that was abruptly cut off midstream. Sir, the vessel was the Anubis."
"Damn." Ulysses cursed softly. The ISS Anubis was the transport that was bringing replacement Flag officers to Prescott's Star. If it was lost, Ulysses was on his own for the foreseeable future. How the Anubis was taken out was up for debate, for it shouldn't have happened given its phase cloaking device.
"We have also received word that Bajor Sector has come under attack by not only the expected Cardassian forces, but by a major Galactic Unity Fleet as well. Shortly after the message was sent, all communications from Bajor Sector were cut off."
Ulysses blanched slightly. "I sure hope that this doesn't mean that the GA and GU are starting to act in concert with each other, I don't need to tell you how difficult a position that would put the Empire in." Ulysses gave a silent prayer for the tens of thousands of Imperial personnel and innocent civilians on Bajor that were under assault by two foes.
"Agreed Admiral, but until contact is reestablished, we will not be certain weather they are in collusion or not. It would be illogical to form any conclusions on such fragmentary data." Ulysses nodded his agreement. He sincerely hoped that all of the Empire's enemies weren't operating together. Such an outcome would be even worse than letting the monsters in Section and Starfleet have free reign.
"In the system itself," P'tel continued, "there have been a few probes by GU forces but nothing significant. However, the probes have been increasing in both frequency and size. It is my belief that the GU will attack soon. The fact that the final outer colony in the sector has fallen to the GU further supports that they will attack us again soon."
"Agreed. If they've finished with the outer systems, we're the only ones left. How's the Fleet elements shaking down to the new tactics I initiated before my. accident."
"Quite well sir. Needless to say, they were slightly irritated at being sequestered to ensure that word doesn't get out, but they have been practicing your new tactics and are now thoroughly capable of executing them."
"Good."
"One minor thing I think you should get a heads up about Skipper," Clay said, "The Commissar wasn't too pleased when she figured out the cost to loss ratio of those new energy buoys you got her to agree to just before you went down to Lilith."
Anna snorted. "That's the biggest understatement of the year. If you'd been conscious at the time, she might have tried to throttle you. She was really steamed that you were able to pull one over on her like that."
"I don't think you'll be able to pull a fast one on her like that again Sir." Clay nodded as he continued. "She's to smart for it and she'll be on the lookout for it in the future."
"She didn't stop production on them did she?" Ulysses asked. If she did that, things could prove more difficult when the GU Fleet again came calling on Prescott's Star.
"No sir, I don't think she could without a considerable loss of face. It would show to all who cared to look that she had signed off on something without knowing everything about it."
"Good. The cost to loss ratios were in the brief I gave her, it isn't my fault she didn't read them thoroughly." Of course, in his pitch to get her support, he conveniently ignored the cost to loss ratio and sold her on the high points of the new energy buoy design. Just like any salesman would do when trying to sell something.
"That is why Commissar Stevens isn't here now Admiral, she is currently out at Nightingale Shipyards looking over what you conned her into authorizing. At least their simplistic design means they're a quick assembly. We should have adequate numbers for when the GU come calling again. Same goes for the new torpedoes Section was kind enough to give us."
"Very good. They just might give us an edge if the enemy behaves as I think they will. As far as they know, they have all the advantages. Hence, it's my belief that they will come in with the subtlety of a bull in a china shop. It's what I would do in their place, with their advantages. But given our new assets, it will bleed them white before they even gain range." Fire flared in Ulysses eye momentarily.
"But until then, I want to continue to have the fleet train hard. They might grumble, but the extra training will make the coming battle easier. Have our GU guests said anything of use?" Ulysses asked. Quite a few GU personnel had been picked up by the SAR crews and were currently dirtside on one of Lilith's more isolated islands. Ulysses had left strict orders that they were to be fairly treated.
"Nothing other than surprise Admiral. It seems that they were under the impression that we were raving animals who would eat them at the first possible opportunity." Anna said. "While they've been tight lipped to our interviewers on matters of technology and protocol, they have been quite forward in their observations of us. Many seemed quite shocked that their accepted worldview was so thoroughly wrong."
"On the tech side of things Skipper, I think we may have hit the jackpot." Clay's eyes gleamed. "Per your orders, I've had all spare Engineers combing through the debris and shattered ships the GU left behind. And I think that we've unearthed one of their internal dampers."
"You're serious?!" Ulysses said, his lone eye widening.
"It's still preliminary, but I believe so yes. It might prove a false alarm yet, but so far it looks like the real deal."
"Hmm. Keep me apprised please. If we can neutralize their STL speed advantage, it'll be a major boost to our combat effectiveness. Slipstream works to gain the range, but not all ships have undergone the refit and with the hot war with the GU and they stalled one with the GA, I doubt that very many will be able to receive the extensive replacement anytime soon. But if all we have to do is replace our damper system to level the playing field, it can be done in field with little effort. Well done, and give my personal thanks to whomever was responsible for unearthing this little treasure."
"Aye sir." Clay said with a smile.
"Now if you'll excuse me," he said, standing up from his seat on the biobed's edge, "I need to put on a uniform."
"Of course Sir." Anna shepherded the two officers outside while Ulysses picked a new uniform that she had conveniently laid out on the next bed for him. Walking slowly and deliberately towards the adjacent bathroom, Ulysses gradually felt his unbalance subside. One look in the mirror showed him how badly his mangled face looked. Anna had been forced to seal over the now dead cybernetic implant with false skin. His face was nearly featureless on his left side thanks to his lack of definable eye socket, eye and eyebrow. After slipping into the bodysuit of his uniform and clasping his command cloak around him, Ulysses surveyed himself in the mirror. His face looked out of place, with only one eye staring back at him. Then he got an idea.
--- --- ---
Ulysses walked out of Sickbay with a jaunty smile on his face and a black eye patch over where his left eye should be. P'tel merely raised an eyebrow while Clay and Anna raised two. Anna was the first to speak.
"On you, the look works for some strange reason. Just don't replicate a stuffed parrot and stick it on your shoulder. That might be taking the motif a bit too far." A smile creased her face, and it was the most beautiful thing Ulysses had ever seen.
ISCV Purity of Heart, 1294th Superdreadnought Battlegroup, 901st Fleet, Galactic Unity Peaceforces
"No, NO, [b]NO[/b]!" The remnants of 901st Fleet and its assigned reinforcements were working up far better than could possibly be hoped for, but it still wasn't good enough to mollify Fleet Marshal Teresa Chora. "You call that a tight formation?" she said, gesturing to the recent fleet exercise in the holotank behind her as her irritated voice and face went out to the command and flag decks of each ship in her Fleet. "Look at how loose your squadron level manuvers are. When a snap maneuver is ordered, I expect it to be carried out smoothly, not with half of you beginning your turn when the other half are nearly done. We are going to stay here and do this till you get it right. I don't care if it takes all night. When we engage the enemy, I intend to have this Fleet tempered into an razor sharp blade, not one better fitting a cudgel in name. We are members of the GU Peaceforces, not a bunch of Terran rabble, start acting like it!" She snarled. "Again!"
--- --- ---
It had only taken another four hours of fleet wide exercises for Teresa to be satisfied, her lips curving upward slightly in a faint smile. That same satisfaction had corresponded with an upwelling of pride throughout the fleet upon successful execution of her orders. She had kept her telepathic barriers down, allowing everyone in the fleet who had the ability to sample her thoughts and feelings. They knew that she was honest when she said she was proud of them, and as such, they began to take pride in their own success. The following day, they responded just as crisply, with the confidence that they had thought lost after the disaster in Prescott's Star.
"Taskforce 90153 has reported back Ma'am." A Q'Nabbian Lieutenant said through his environmental suit's external speaker. "The Imperial colony world of Williamsburg has fallen, population of two million. Peaceforces report light resistance dirtside. It would appear from preliminary reports that orders have been given for the civilians to be as peaceful as possible. Many of those with less extensive mental shields leaked that they feel that they will not be long under our control. They are under the impression that our fleet will loose its battle to control Prescott's Star, and that Admiral Vanguard will then come out and free them."
"Send those who are caught in open rebellion to Justice. They'll deal with them just like they have on all the other world's we've taken over." The telepaths in ISC Justice Department were amongst the most gifted of all ISC telepaths. If anyone could make the Terrans who rebelled against GU rule see reason, it would be them. "Have Taskforce 90153 form up, it's time to remove the Terran's false hope in salvation by one Admiral Ulysses Vanguard." Shortly thereafter, the prodigious might of 901st Fleet of the GU Peaceforces began to move. A yellow pinprick of light was directly in front of them, the place where the final resistance in the Sector would be crushed.
ISS Valley Forge
Ulysses was awakened by the insistent piercing chime of his com. Rolling out of bed, he swatted the com acceptance key.
"Vanguard here, go ahead."
"Admiral," P'tel's usually cool voice had a barely discernable edge. "Sensor platform 459 - A has detected an incoming warp footprint. It is a large one Sir, and it is coming from the probable approach vector of the Galactic Unity Fleet. ETA is seven minutes, 56.2 seconds a present velocity."
"Order the Fleet and fortifications to battlestations." Ulysses said as he began slipping on his uniform. "I'll be on the Flag Bridge momentarily. Ulysses out." And so it begins. Ulysses thought.
Valley Forge, Sickbay Four
The young girl in the white fur, the same one that had warned him and haunted his dreams, smiled up at him then began to fade out. All to soon, she was totally gone, leaving Ulysses alone in the darkness. But even the darkness began to fade, growing brighter and brighter.
Ulysses biological eye fluttered open as consciousness forced it's way through the thick shroud of darkness.
"Welcome back into the land of the living Uly." A soft voice said from beside him. It took him a moment to focus on its source, his eye blinking a few times to help clear its vision.
"Anna?" His voice cracked, as if starting afresh from long disuse.
"Yes Uly, it's me." There was relief in her voice. "How do you feel?"
"Not that bad actually. I assume that I have you're expertise to thank for that?" His voice became closer to normal the more he used it. Ulysses tried to sit up, but moved to fast. The room swam and his arms went rubbery. He allowed himself to fall back down to the padded biobed with a small groan. The room continued to wobble and he felt like he was in a tumble, but it gradually subsided.
"Slowly, Uly, slowly." Anna said, placing a restraining hand lightly on his chest. "You took a nasty couple of bumps on the head and have been out for close to three days now."
"Three. DAYS?!?" Ulysses said in a forceful whisper, startled that he had been out of it for so long.
"Yes. It was touch and go there for a while, but you're a fighter, just like you've always been. I wasn't able to save your cybernetic eyepiece, it was too damaged. The major trauma was from a boulder you fell on after the hydrogen explosion threw you for a loop. There were times where I thought you stayed with us just because you were too stubborn to let go."
"Or you were too stubborn to let me give up. Thank you, Anna. For. for everything. For patching me back together. For being my friend when I needed you to be. Just. everything."
In the muted lighting of the Sickbay, Ulysses swore that Anna's fair skin turned a few shades darker. Then she spoke with a strange tone in her voice. "And thank you Uly, for staying with us." Then she leaned down and kissed him lightly on the lips. Contact was broken near instantly, but the passion of it left Ulysses head swimming. Now it was his turn to blush, eyes showing surprise. But Anna was already walking across the Sickbay. "There are some others that are eager to see you up and about again, and I think I've kept them waiting about long enough." She said over her shoulder.
Ulysses slowly managed to rise to a sitting position and swing his legs around to let them dangle off the side of the biobed. Surely she didn't feel THAT way about him?! This was something that was going to require more thought and searching of his own feelings on the matter. He wasn't certain that he was ready to take things to the next level if that was where she was leading. But that would have to wait. The Sickbay doors swooshed open, admitting P'tel and Clay Heidberg.
"Skipper!" Clay said. "Good to see you up and about again. You really had us worried there for a while." There was a look of mild concern and anger on his face as he took in the mess of Ulysses left eye socket. The ruined ocular implant couldn't be replaced with local resources. It would require a trip to the core worlds where a specialist could stick on a new customized eyepiece.
"Admiral." P'tel said from behind her customary Vulcan mask of non-emotion, but Ulysses swore he saw something much akin to joy flash in her eyes.
"Good to see you all again to, all three of you." Ulysses said pausing a beat with a smile before continuing. "Can someone tell me what happened? The last thing I remember was flying through the air."
P'tel proceeded to tell him what the Marines had done to save him.
"Make sure they all get my recommendation for a medal. Especially that Assault Shuttle's pilot and crew. It was their quick action that got them there soon enough." Ulysses said. "So what else has happened in my absence?"
"Only one major incident Admiral." P'tel said. "We received a distress call from an Imperial vessel that was abruptly cut off midstream. Sir, the vessel was the Anubis."
"Damn." Ulysses cursed softly. The ISS Anubis was the transport that was bringing replacement Flag officers to Prescott's Star. If it was lost, Ulysses was on his own for the foreseeable future. How the Anubis was taken out was up for debate, for it shouldn't have happened given its phase cloaking device.
"We have also received word that Bajor Sector has come under attack by not only the expected Cardassian forces, but by a major Galactic Unity Fleet as well. Shortly after the message was sent, all communications from Bajor Sector were cut off."
Ulysses blanched slightly. "I sure hope that this doesn't mean that the GA and GU are starting to act in concert with each other, I don't need to tell you how difficult a position that would put the Empire in." Ulysses gave a silent prayer for the tens of thousands of Imperial personnel and innocent civilians on Bajor that were under assault by two foes.
"Agreed Admiral, but until contact is reestablished, we will not be certain weather they are in collusion or not. It would be illogical to form any conclusions on such fragmentary data." Ulysses nodded his agreement. He sincerely hoped that all of the Empire's enemies weren't operating together. Such an outcome would be even worse than letting the monsters in Section and Starfleet have free reign.
"In the system itself," P'tel continued, "there have been a few probes by GU forces but nothing significant. However, the probes have been increasing in both frequency and size. It is my belief that the GU will attack soon. The fact that the final outer colony in the sector has fallen to the GU further supports that they will attack us again soon."
"Agreed. If they've finished with the outer systems, we're the only ones left. How's the Fleet elements shaking down to the new tactics I initiated before my. accident."
"Quite well sir. Needless to say, they were slightly irritated at being sequestered to ensure that word doesn't get out, but they have been practicing your new tactics and are now thoroughly capable of executing them."
"Good."
"One minor thing I think you should get a heads up about Skipper," Clay said, "The Commissar wasn't too pleased when she figured out the cost to loss ratio of those new energy buoys you got her to agree to just before you went down to Lilith."
Anna snorted. "That's the biggest understatement of the year. If you'd been conscious at the time, she might have tried to throttle you. She was really steamed that you were able to pull one over on her like that."
"I don't think you'll be able to pull a fast one on her like that again Sir." Clay nodded as he continued. "She's to smart for it and she'll be on the lookout for it in the future."
"She didn't stop production on them did she?" Ulysses asked. If she did that, things could prove more difficult when the GU Fleet again came calling on Prescott's Star.
"No sir, I don't think she could without a considerable loss of face. It would show to all who cared to look that she had signed off on something without knowing everything about it."
"Good. The cost to loss ratios were in the brief I gave her, it isn't my fault she didn't read them thoroughly." Of course, in his pitch to get her support, he conveniently ignored the cost to loss ratio and sold her on the high points of the new energy buoy design. Just like any salesman would do when trying to sell something.
"That is why Commissar Stevens isn't here now Admiral, she is currently out at Nightingale Shipyards looking over what you conned her into authorizing. At least their simplistic design means they're a quick assembly. We should have adequate numbers for when the GU come calling again. Same goes for the new torpedoes Section was kind enough to give us."
"Very good. They just might give us an edge if the enemy behaves as I think they will. As far as they know, they have all the advantages. Hence, it's my belief that they will come in with the subtlety of a bull in a china shop. It's what I would do in their place, with their advantages. But given our new assets, it will bleed them white before they even gain range." Fire flared in Ulysses eye momentarily.
"But until then, I want to continue to have the fleet train hard. They might grumble, but the extra training will make the coming battle easier. Have our GU guests said anything of use?" Ulysses asked. Quite a few GU personnel had been picked up by the SAR crews and were currently dirtside on one of Lilith's more isolated islands. Ulysses had left strict orders that they were to be fairly treated.
"Nothing other than surprise Admiral. It seems that they were under the impression that we were raving animals who would eat them at the first possible opportunity." Anna said. "While they've been tight lipped to our interviewers on matters of technology and protocol, they have been quite forward in their observations of us. Many seemed quite shocked that their accepted worldview was so thoroughly wrong."
"On the tech side of things Skipper, I think we may have hit the jackpot." Clay's eyes gleamed. "Per your orders, I've had all spare Engineers combing through the debris and shattered ships the GU left behind. And I think that we've unearthed one of their internal dampers."
"You're serious?!" Ulysses said, his lone eye widening.
"It's still preliminary, but I believe so yes. It might prove a false alarm yet, but so far it looks like the real deal."
"Hmm. Keep me apprised please. If we can neutralize their STL speed advantage, it'll be a major boost to our combat effectiveness. Slipstream works to gain the range, but not all ships have undergone the refit and with the hot war with the GU and they stalled one with the GA, I doubt that very many will be able to receive the extensive replacement anytime soon. But if all we have to do is replace our damper system to level the playing field, it can be done in field with little effort. Well done, and give my personal thanks to whomever was responsible for unearthing this little treasure."
"Aye sir." Clay said with a smile.
"Now if you'll excuse me," he said, standing up from his seat on the biobed's edge, "I need to put on a uniform."
"Of course Sir." Anna shepherded the two officers outside while Ulysses picked a new uniform that she had conveniently laid out on the next bed for him. Walking slowly and deliberately towards the adjacent bathroom, Ulysses gradually felt his unbalance subside. One look in the mirror showed him how badly his mangled face looked. Anna had been forced to seal over the now dead cybernetic implant with false skin. His face was nearly featureless on his left side thanks to his lack of definable eye socket, eye and eyebrow. After slipping into the bodysuit of his uniform and clasping his command cloak around him, Ulysses surveyed himself in the mirror. His face looked out of place, with only one eye staring back at him. Then he got an idea.
--- --- ---
Ulysses walked out of Sickbay with a jaunty smile on his face and a black eye patch over where his left eye should be. P'tel merely raised an eyebrow while Clay and Anna raised two. Anna was the first to speak.
"On you, the look works for some strange reason. Just don't replicate a stuffed parrot and stick it on your shoulder. That might be taking the motif a bit too far." A smile creased her face, and it was the most beautiful thing Ulysses had ever seen.
ISCV Purity of Heart, 1294th Superdreadnought Battlegroup, 901st Fleet, Galactic Unity Peaceforces
"No, NO, [b]NO[/b]!" The remnants of 901st Fleet and its assigned reinforcements were working up far better than could possibly be hoped for, but it still wasn't good enough to mollify Fleet Marshal Teresa Chora. "You call that a tight formation?" she said, gesturing to the recent fleet exercise in the holotank behind her as her irritated voice and face went out to the command and flag decks of each ship in her Fleet. "Look at how loose your squadron level manuvers are. When a snap maneuver is ordered, I expect it to be carried out smoothly, not with half of you beginning your turn when the other half are nearly done. We are going to stay here and do this till you get it right. I don't care if it takes all night. When we engage the enemy, I intend to have this Fleet tempered into an razor sharp blade, not one better fitting a cudgel in name. We are members of the GU Peaceforces, not a bunch of Terran rabble, start acting like it!" She snarled. "Again!"
--- --- ---
It had only taken another four hours of fleet wide exercises for Teresa to be satisfied, her lips curving upward slightly in a faint smile. That same satisfaction had corresponded with an upwelling of pride throughout the fleet upon successful execution of her orders. She had kept her telepathic barriers down, allowing everyone in the fleet who had the ability to sample her thoughts and feelings. They knew that she was honest when she said she was proud of them, and as such, they began to take pride in their own success. The following day, they responded just as crisply, with the confidence that they had thought lost after the disaster in Prescott's Star.
"Taskforce 90153 has reported back Ma'am." A Q'Nabbian Lieutenant said through his environmental suit's external speaker. "The Imperial colony world of Williamsburg has fallen, population of two million. Peaceforces report light resistance dirtside. It would appear from preliminary reports that orders have been given for the civilians to be as peaceful as possible. Many of those with less extensive mental shields leaked that they feel that they will not be long under our control. They are under the impression that our fleet will loose its battle to control Prescott's Star, and that Admiral Vanguard will then come out and free them."
"Send those who are caught in open rebellion to Justice. They'll deal with them just like they have on all the other world's we've taken over." The telepaths in ISC Justice Department were amongst the most gifted of all ISC telepaths. If anyone could make the Terrans who rebelled against GU rule see reason, it would be them. "Have Taskforce 90153 form up, it's time to remove the Terran's false hope in salvation by one Admiral Ulysses Vanguard." Shortly thereafter, the prodigious might of 901st Fleet of the GU Peaceforces began to move. A yellow pinprick of light was directly in front of them, the place where the final resistance in the Sector would be crushed.
ISS Valley Forge
Ulysses was awakened by the insistent piercing chime of his com. Rolling out of bed, he swatted the com acceptance key.
"Vanguard here, go ahead."
"Admiral," P'tel's usually cool voice had a barely discernable edge. "Sensor platform 459 - A has detected an incoming warp footprint. It is a large one Sir, and it is coming from the probable approach vector of the Galactic Unity Fleet. ETA is seven minutes, 56.2 seconds a present velocity."
"Order the Fleet and fortifications to battlestations." Ulysses said as he began slipping on his uniform. "I'll be on the Flag Bridge momentarily. Ulysses out." And so it begins. Ulysses thought.