Chapter 7

Crais tried to contact the other gunships, but he found that communications were impossible within the wormhole. He was reasonably sure they could expect a Scarran force at the end of the wormhole. "There was another wormhole in Scarran space, slightly farther, can we exit that one instead? The Scarran forces are most likely concentrated at the wormhole nearest Katratzi."

"Way ahead of you, Cap'n. Now let me concentrate," replied John.

Crais waited as patiently as he could. This was the worst part. They would arrive and be disoriented, and there was no telling what they would find at the end of the wormhole. The longer they were in the wormhole the more difficult keeping Talyn calm became. This was magnified by the fact that Talyn had no idea where he was or how to get back to where they had started.

Finally, they emerged from the wormhole. "Scan the area," Crais ordered.

"No sign of Scarran ships. Triangulating our position," reported Teeg.

The communications officer reported, "All gunships accounted for with the exception of one."

Crais' gaze shifted to John.

John shrugged, "There's nothing I could have done about it. They all knew they had to follow."

"Where are they?"

"I don't know. Hopefully, they are in this reality."

"When this is over can you find them?"

"Possibly, but that's not my number one concern." John found this show of concern unusual from what he knew of Peacekeeper Crais.

"Captain, I've triangulated our position and plotted starburst coordinates. I'm transmitting them to the rest of the attack fleet," announced Teeg.

"Starburst coordinates? I thought that was an inexact method," John asked.

"Perhaps for a normal Leviathan. Gunships are trained for precision starburst. Standby to initiate starburst."

Aeryn smiled at John, "Congratulations. You did it."

"Not that he would notice, but thanks babe." He grabbed her as Talyn lurched into starburst.

They emerged from starburst, and John was amazed at how close they were to Katratzi. He could see it clearly through the viewport. He watched the sensors, and he could see the gunships forming up into their attack groups. There was something that seemed amiss to him. "Where are the ships?" he asked Aeryn.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Crais, where are the ships? We need to hold off the attack."

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Where are the Scarran ships? They wouldn't leave Katratzi undefended. This has to be an ambush."

"The longer we remain here doing nothing, the worse we make the situation. Trap or not, we need to attack. The Scarrans have never met a full attack by the gunship fleet before. You have seen how the gunships work together. They communicate more quickly than normal ships."

"I just don't like it. I think we should be careful, that's all. They knew we would be coming."

"Perhaps they are waiting for us at the other wormhole. Proceed with the attack plan," he ordered. Crichton did have a valid point, but there was no point in delay. It was unlikely the Scarrans were expecting an attack from this direction, so even if they were expected, they would have some surprise on their side.

The gunships swooped in for the first attack. The first group hit their targets, but before the other groups could attack, a Scarran attack fleet rushed in from behind one of the other moons and began attacking the gunships.

As planned, half the gunships broke away to deal with the Scarran ships, while the other half continued their attacks on Katratzi. After the first pass the planetary defense systems were neutralized.

John looked over at Crais and saw the captain's eyes were closed. He saw Aeryn punching something up on the display. When he looked over, he saw a three dimensional display of the battle. A group of the gunships were swarming around the dreadnaught. John watched as the group attacked with perfect timing. Several gunships sustained damaged and one was disabled, but he watched them take out the dreadnaught. It was close enough that it was sucked towards the planet. "Just like Jedi," John whispered.

"What?" asked Aeryn.

"Movie, it's nothing."

The battle raged and Talyn shook as he suffered several hits, but none of them was serious. The gunships made quick work of the Scarran ships, and then concentrated their effort on Katratzi.

John closed his eyes as he watch the planet being destroyed. He knew it was the right thing, but there were so many innocents that were being killed, too. He told himself that they weren't really innocent. They were supporting the Scarran war machine, and he knew that Kalish were scientists in the Empire and there was no proof that a Kalish Resistance existed here.

Crais finally opened his eyes. "It is complete. The planet is destroying itself. Status of the attack force?"

"One gunship destroyed, two disabled and will have to be towed, two others are degraded and have lost the ability to starburst. No estimate on time of repair for any ships, sir," Lieutenant Ohrn reported.

"Once the disabled ships have been secured, we will proceed to the nearest wormhole," Crais announced.

"Is that a good idea? I mean, if part of the fleet was waiting for us there, we're going to run into them, and they have probably been called here for help," asked John.

"Without starburst it would take us two solar days to return to the wormhole we came through. That would put the fleet at undue risk. The best course of action to is leave Scarran space as quickly as possible. Our force is still sufficient enough to defeat a Scarran battle group."

John leaned over and whispered to Aeryn, "That seemed too easy. I don't like it."

Crais overheard his comment, "The gunships were designed specifically to defeat Scarran forces. There was no surprise in the speed at which they destroyed the dreadnaught."

"Then why haven't you destroyed them yet?" John asked. If the Peacekeepers had this sort of firepower, there was no reason they hadn't destroyed the Scarrans yet.

"We do not yet have enough gunships to take on a massed Scarran fleet. What we have here is essentially the entire gunship force. It will be four more cycles before we have enough. And prior to our capture of the Scarran cruiser, we had no information on where their bases were, or how to get past their defenses. Does that answer your question?"

"Yeah, thanks." He grabbed Aeryn's arm and led her out of command.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Planetary simulation, we need to talk."

"You realize this is not like a command carrier. Crais can probably find out what's going on anywhere."

"Okay, fine, but it's the most open area."

Once there, he pulled her to what was a secluded area, though it was nearly deserted as the crew was still at battle stations. The only ones present members of the cadet class.

"What's this all about?" she asked.

"I'm concerned about what happens next."

"We go home, that's what happens next."

"Does it? You heard what Crais said, there aren't enough gunships to defeat the Scarrans. Sure, this attack is going to hurt them, but it's also going to piss them off. You know First Command is going to want to use wormholes to finish off the Scarrans."

"Crais gave his word…"

John interrupted, "Do you think that's going to matter? Do you think he's just going to let us leave when he has the ability to wipe out the Scarrans and become a hero of the Sebacean race in his grasp?"

"John, he gave us his word. He'll let us leave."

"And leave himself open to disgrace? And how would explain it to First Command?"

"What are you suggesting?"

John started pacing and ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't know."

"You know you can't threaten him. He won't react well to that. I think we should talk to him before making any rushing into anything."

Talyn shook with the force of an impact. "Guess we found those other Scarrans. We'd better get up to command for when we find that wormhole."

"John, you're not going to do anything stupid, are you?"

He smiled at her, "Me?"

She followed him out of command hoping that he wouldn't do anything to upset Crais.

John arrived in command and froze for a microt. "Crais, you've gotta move the gunships, NOW!"

"What are you talking about?" Crais asked.

"We're too close to where the wormhole is going to open, they need to move now!"

Crais ordered the gunships to move off while still engaging the Scarrans. When the wormhole did open it almost captured one of the gunships, and it did destroy one of the Scarran ships.

"We need to enter the wormhole," John said.

"We are on the verge of defeating the Scarran force," replied Crais.

"If you want to leave Scarran space we need to go now. If they follow us we can blow them up on the other side, or they'll just turn to goo on their own, but we have to leave."

Crais stared at John gritting his teeth for a few microts. "Order the gunships into the wormhole."

John took his place at the controls to guide Talyn through the wormhole. He was trying not to let his apprehension distract him. When the emerged from the wormhole, they received a transmission, "Captain Crais, this is Churat, welcome back."

"Thank you, Brother. Have there been any further signs of the Scarrans?"

"No. Was your mission a success?"

"Yes, it was. We will hold a debriefing onboard Churat. Deploy repair crews as required to the gunships." He closed the channel and looked at John. "Lt. Crichton, you will accompany for the debriefing."

John and Aeryn followed him out of command. "We need to talk to you."

"It can wait until after the debriefing."

"No, Crais, I don't think it can."

Crais stopped and turned on him. "I have injured gunships and gunships that need to return to their respective fleets. We will hold this debriefing first, and then I will make a preliminary report to First Command. After that, we can discuss whatever you desire." Crais began walking towards the hangar.

"You're not going to let us return to our reality, are you?" John asked.

Aeryn elbowed him and whispered through gritted teeth, "John."

Crais spun on John, clearly upset. "We will discuss this when I have time. And must I continue to remind me that you will show me the proper amount of respect. You draw too much attention to yourself, and if you continue this sort of behavior, I will be forced to punish you."

John followed after and muttered, "Uh-oh, Dad's going to send me to bed without any desert."

"John, behave," Aeryn whispered.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

There were no surprises in the debriefing. Tauvo was surprised by the destruction he saw on the sensor recordings. "This is marvelous. The gunships performed magnificently. The Scarrans never knew what hit them."

Bialar stopped the recording. "Unfortunately, we were forced to leave surviving ships behind when we returned through the wormhole. While the Scarrans likely do not know exactly what happened to Katratzi, the surviving ships probably have a good sensor record of our battle at the wormhole. No doubt they will have their scientists analyze it to search for a way to gain an advantage over the gunships." He shot John an icy glare to let him know he was the one to blame for that.

"I presume no one else has anything to add?" he asked and looked around the room. "The disabled ships will remain with my battle group until repairs can be conducted. The rest of you are free to return to your battle groups."

John followed Bialar out of the briefing room. "Crais, Captain, we need to talk."

Bialar didn't break pace. "I must make my report to First Command. I will send for you when it is complete."

"It's important," John insisted.

"I have no doubt that you believe it is. My first priority is to inform my chain of command of the outcome of our attack. Your concerns are secondary."

Tauvo had followed and pulled John aside. "John, don't push him. Come to my quarters." He poured all three of them drinks and sat on the edge of his desk. "Now, what are you trying to upset my brother about?"

"I'm not sure he's going to send us back," John said.

"What would make you say that? He gave his word that you would be returned. In fact, I recall you stayed only to ensure the destruction of the Scarran base at Katratzi. That was your idea, not his."

"I know that. But you saw the recordings. You saw what we did to the Scarran forces."

"I did. My brother did a good job designing them," Tauvo said proudly.

"That's what I'm afraid of. Once First Command sees what they can do, they are going to want to attack more Scarran forces, which will involve wormholes, and I'm the only one that knows anything about them. That means your brother is going to have to keep me here."

"My brother wouldn't do that. He gave you his word that he would help you return and he will."

"Can you be so sure of that? He's going to be hailed as a great hero for this battle. No, you can hardly call it a battle. The Scarrans didn't stand a chance. It was a massacre. But anyway, he's going to be a hero, and I don't see him giving that up or having to explain why he can no longer use wormholes."

"John, he gave his word. He will honor it, despite what you believe. When he summons you, I'll come with you. Together, we should be able to come up with a good reason on why we can no longer travel wormholes."

"Yeah, I'll believe that when I see it."

The comms on Tauvo's desk sounded, and he answered it."Tauvo, come to my quarters."

John and Aeryn looked at him. "I'll talk with him. It might be better that I get a chance to do this privately first."

"Tauvo," John said simply.

Tauvo clapped his hand on John's shoulder. "He won't go back on his word. I'll see to it."

John looked at Aeryn once Tauvo was gone. "If we can get back to Talyn, we can take my pod."

"And take it where? Unless there is a wormhole nearby that would only upset Crais more and then where would we be?"

He stood up and started pacing. "I know. I just feel helpless sitting here waiting for him to pass judgment on us."

She got up and wrapped her arms around him. "It'll be alright. He gave us our word."

"Why do you trust him so much?"

"It's more I trust Tauvo. We've had a lot of time to talk while you were busy. He's a good man."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"You wanted to see me, Brother?" Tauvo asked.

"Yes, have a seat. How is Grayza?"

"Still unhappy about being a prisoner. She continues to profess that we will all be court-martialed and executed for how we have treated her."

"I don't think that will matter. That fact that the Scarrans were waiting for us should be all the proof that First Command will need that she was a traitor."

"Let's hope you're right. She has some powerful connections."

"Powerful connections cannot help a traitor," replied Bialar.

Tauvo sat quietly in thought for several long microts. "Bialar, we have already seen what power the heppel gland gives her. It is very likely that she has used it on members of the council."

"Then we will remove it and prevent her from reasserting that power."

"To remove it would kill her, brother."

Bialar slammed his hand against his desk in frustration. "We still have two days to decide what we are going to do with her."

Tauvo shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "There is another matter." He waited for that raised eyebrow his brother was so famous for before continuing. "There is the matter of sending John and Aeryn home." When Bialar didn't reply, he continued, "We should be able to take them back to the wormhole while only delaying our arrival a few arns."

"And then what? I explain to First Command the attack was a success, but one we will not be able to repeat? Crichton has been very careful not to leave too much of his work in the databanks."

"Bialar, you agreed you would send them back. That's why they came. Tell First Command they were casualties. You sustained damage, it's plausible."

Bialar leaned forward, a sparkle in his eyes, "With Crichton's knowledge and my gunships, we can bring the Scarrans to their knees. You didn't see it. It was marvelous. The Scarrans were no match for the gunships. We tore them to pieces. We can end this war."

Tauvo couldn't believe what he was hearing from his brother.