Part 2 – A New Alliance
Three years later…
The refugees fleeing the Serpent Empire as they were calling themselves were welcome to Mirinoi with mixed feelings from the locals, and the first settlers that came aboard Terra Venture.
Eventually the refugees that came from Earth became known as the Lost Ones.
Carter made a promise to Damien and his friends when they arrived on Mirinoi, and he made good on that promise, even managed to get Commander of the Silver Guardians, Wesley Collins, and SPD Earth Commander and Shadow Ranger, Sky Tate to train them even further.
A large wooded area…
Three Reptilian Foot-Soldiers who had come to be known as Es'kas guarded a small area that overlooked their fortress where they kept their prisoners.
As the first turned, eh saw something moving in the bushes, and as he drew his dagger, and went to investigate, the two Es'kas that were standing around just kept talking.
The first started poking around in the bushes with his knife before a finger-less gloved hand grabbed him by the arm, and yanked him into the bushes.
Damien emerged from the bushes wearing a blue digital-camo military uniform with a red beret, and had a Lightspeed Rescue Blaster with a Time Force Krono Blaster grip, and an SPD Blaster paint-job holstered at his hip.
While Lightspeed Rescue, Bio-Lab, and SPD had been working together, one thing they had improved was the weaponry, which they had combined to make it more powerful.
Damien crept over to the two Es'kas, and smashed their heads together, stunning them, he then dodged the first Es'kas' kick, grabbed the Es'ka from behind, wrapped his arms around the creature's throat, and lifted the Es'ka above the ground where he accidentally kicked his cohort. Damien slammed the Es'ka into the ground, causing it to disappear, then charged, grabbing the second Es'ka by the skull, and slammed his head into the nearest tree.
As the Es'ka sank to the ground and disappeared, Damien knelt next to the tree, pulled out his binoculars, and looked around at their defenses before pressing two fingers to his hidden ear-piece, "Two guards north-west, one south-west and south-east, and another two north-east," he said, "Wait for your signals, and then move in."
Damien pulled a small Ocarina out of his back pocket, raised it to his lips, and played an A-Minor on the small flute.
Matt, dressed in a similar blue digital-camo military uniform sprang into action, he tapped the first guard in the north-west tower on the shoulder who swung at him with his rifle, Matt pushed the rifle to the side, kneed the Es'ka in the gut, and elbowed the creature on the back of the neck, sending him to the ground.
The second raised his rifle only to have Matt jam the firing-mechanism open, then bashed the rifle into the Es'ka's nose, took the rifle from the Es'ka, and using it as a club, smacked the Es'ka across the face.
As he disappeared, Matt signaled Damien that he was clear, Damien raised the Ocarina to his lips to play a D-Major.
Coming out of the bushes on the south-east region of the base was Lara who was dressed the same as Damien and Matt.
As she approached the Es'ka, she pulled his legs out from under him, and then bashed his head into the dirt.
As he disappeared, she signaled Damien who played a C-Sharp, Steven sprang into action against the two Es'kas in the north-east region of the base.
He stunned the first with a blow to the side of the head, the stunned Es'ka stumbled as Steven moved his partner in the way of his fist which knocked to the ground, when he finally saw Steven, he attempted to give him a wild elbow, only to have Steven grab his arm, twist it upwards, lifted him above his head, and slammed him into the ground.
As he disappeared, he turned back to the final Es'ka who had his sidearm out, and delivered a strong kick to the Es'ka's skull.
He turned, and signaled Damien who played a B-straight on his Ocarina.
Jackie came out of the shadows, and came at the final Es'ka by grabbing his arm, punching the creature in the jaw, kneed him in the gut, and then flipped him onto the ground.
Jackie signaled Damien who slowly made his way down the hill to the base where he met up with his team where they met near the entrance to the base.
As they drew their blasters, Damien and Matt prepared to throw open the doors, they looked at Steven, Jackie, and Lara who aimed their blasters at the door, and nodded.
Damien and Matt threw the doors open to the base to see five Es'Kas holding Carter hostage.
As they raised their blasters which looked like coiled snakes with an open mouth on the end where the barrel was, Lara and Jackie dropped the two on the ends, Steven and Matt dropped the two inner Es'kas, and then Damien hit the last Es'ka dead-center, dropping him like a stone.
"We're here," Damien said as he walked over, and untied Carter.
Carter stood up, and pressed the time button on his stop-watch, "Wow," he said as he checked the time, "Five minutes, sixteen seconds. End simulation," the entire area disappeared to reveal they were standing in a simulated environment, and walked over to Sky Tate and Wesley Collins, "Well done," Sky said as he checked his datapad, "That score is ten points higher than I've ever seen."
"Pretty impressive," Wes said as he walked over in his Silver Guardian uniform, "Your training has paid off big time."
It was then that Sky got a call on his communicator, "Tate speaking," Sky said as he raised his Shadow Morpher to his ear.
"Commander," a voice said over the radio, "The ceremony is about to begin."
Sky checked his watch, "Oh crap," he said, "We'll be right there."
"What?" Wes and Carter asked at the same time.
"The ceremony's about to begin," Sky said, "We have to move!"
"Oh boy," Carter said, "Come on, you're gonna want to see this."
All eight of them ran out of the SPD Earth Command Base which had been placed in the center of the Colony to monitor what had become a major city, and out to the SPD S.W.A.T. Truck where upon closing the doors, Sky slammed on the gas.
As the truck lurched forward, Damien turned to Carter and asked, "So what's this all about? What's so important about this conference?"
"You'll see," Carter said, "Right now all I can tell you is that you are going to benefit greatly from this."
They soon arrived at the new building the colonists had been building for the past few months, and as Sky, Wes, and Carter walked inside, they started straightening their uniforms.
As they entered the main atrium, a crowd of senior SPD Officials, members of BIO-LABS board, senior members of Lightspeed Rescue, several Aquitians, people from KO-35, and a few Mercurians.
Carter pointed to five seats left open in the front row, and as Damien and his friends took their seats, Carter and west took their seats at a large, circular conference table as Sky walked up to the podium.
"I want to thank all of your for being here on this momentous occasion," he said, "Today we celebrate a big milestone in intergalactic relations. It wasn't three years ago that Humanity lost Earth, now humanity has a new home. But Earth doesn't need SPD, or the Silver Guardians, or even Lightspeed Rescue to save her. Today Earth's exiled government and SPD have given us the power to form a new agency. Today, SPD, the Silver Guardians, and Lightspeed Rescue as independent agencies cease to exist," a flag dropped behind the conference table, "Long live The Alliance."
The flag was pure white, had a gold canton at the bottom, and gilded in the center was a still-life of the Milky Way Galaxy.
As soon as the flag dropped, applause broke out among the audience. Sky walked back to the table, took his seat, took the pen he had been given for the event, and handed it to Carter.
Carter opened a white certificate holder with the seal of the Alliance on the cover, signed his John Handcock on the bottom line, then passed it across the table to Wes who signed the next line up, and passed to Sky who signed the final line.
As Sky closed the holder, he stood up, while Carter, and Wes followed suit, and as they shook hands, thunderous applause erupted from the crowd.
Damien stood up, and clapped as Carter walked up to him, "This is a victory Damien," he said, "For all of us."
Damien smiled and shook his mentor's hand, he had no idea how this would benefit him, but he would soon find out.
Following the conference, Carter took Damien and his friends up to the upper-levels of the base.
"You, Wes, and Sky had planned the Alliance for a long time, hadn't you?" Damien asked.
"Negotiations began three years ago when we lost Earth," Carter said as the entered a large command center, "Earth's exiled government appealed to SPD and every other species in the known galaxy. It took a while, but we managed to work out an agreement that worked for everyone."
They soon gathered around a large oval-shaped table, "But why are we here," Damien asked, "We're Lightspeed Rescue."
"Not anymore," Carter said, "Lightspeed Rescue has been transformed into the Alliance's Lightspeed Division. Now down to business," Carter tapped on the table, opening a small menu, "Over the past three years, the shipyards have been hard at work developing our next line of defense," Carter opened one menu to show several sleek, aerodynamic ships in different sizes and forms, "And exploration," the next thing he opened was a map of the systems that surrounded Mirinoi, "Which is why I brought you here," Carter tapped on a small system a couple feet away from Mirinoi on the table, "We've picked up weird energy readings from this system, about two days' travel from Mirinoi," the table zoomed in on the planet which was mostly orange from the planet's sandy surface.
"Says here it's a desert planet," Damien said, "No real value, so what's there."
"That's what they've asked me to find out," Carter said as he opened a small item on the table's surface, pulling up a picture of a ship that had been newly formed, "They've asked me to take the Alliance's first ship, the United to that planet to investigate."
"They give you a rank on this?" Damien asked.
"Yes," Carter said, "Major, they've even given me an office."
"Nice," Damien asked, "But I have to ask, what does this have to do with us?"
"They've asked me to pick a team to go down to the surface," Carter said as he looked at Damien, "This is the reason I've been training you for the last three years."
"So, we're ground pounders?" Damien asked.
"You are," Carter said as he walked around the table to Damien, "And that brings me to my second order of business," he put his hand on Damien's shoulder, "I need someone to lead the team. I need a Sergeant. What do you say?"
Damien looked at Carter in disbelief, "You want to make me into a Sergeant?" He asked.
"Yes," Carter said, "I've been grooming you for this position," he held out two metal Sergeant stripe pins, "It's yours, if you want it."
Damien took the pins from Carter's hand, "On one condition," Damien said as he put his hand on Matt's shoulder, "Matt's my XO, you promote me to Sergeant, you promote him to Corporal."
"I thought you'd say that," Carter said as he produced two metal Corporal stripe pins, and handed them to Matt, then held out his hand to Damien, "Welcome to the Alliance."
Damien attached the pins to the lapels of his uniform, and shook Carter's hand before saluting him, "Thank you, Major."
That night Damien was walking home with his friends when they reached his house, "See you guys tomorrow," he said as he pointed to them as they walked down the street.
"See you Sarge." Matt said.
Damien pulled his keys out of his pocket, unlocked the front door to his house, and as he entered, he heard his mother and sister having a small argument.
"I don't care if they were just smoking there," Maria said, "You went to a drinking party, and you're sixteen!"
"Come on mom," Ellen said, "All my friends were there, and I didn't have anything."
"Hey," Damien said as he entered.
"Your home," Ellen said as he walked over to Damien, and hugged him.
"Hey," Damien said as he hugged his sister, "What's up?"
"Mom's grilling me because I snuck out to go to a party where a few people brought a few cans of beer," Ellen said, "And I didn't have anything to drink, and I called."
"I take it there were a few security bells?" Damien asked.
"A few." Ellen said.
"Look," Damien said, "You did the right thing for calling. But you did sneak out," he pointed up the stairs, "Go to bed, me and mom will talk."
Over the last three years, Ellen had changed from that innocent, young girl into a teen queen that tried to do what's right, but stumbled sometimes, Damien took her side mostly, but then again, she was his little sister.
"Welcome home," Maria said as she hugged Damien, "I saw the conference today, it's a really big step."
"A step in the right direction," Damien said as he pulled some of the asiago chicken his mother made out of the pan, onto a plate, and then into the microwave.
"You know you're too easy on her." Maria said.
"You guys do go a little hard on her," Damien said, "She a teenager, let her live her life a little."
"She wants to live a little too much," Maria said, "She can't be sneaking off on her own, and going to a party where there's drinking."
"She didn't know there'd be drinking," Damien said, "She just stumbles sometimes, we all do when we're growing up."
"I guess," Maria said, "But she did sneak out."
"I know," Damien said as he pulled his chicken out of the oven, and placed it on the table, "I'd say, one week, no phone."
"And no hanging out with her friends after dark." Maria said.
"Fair," Damien said as he started eating, "By the way, you two will be on your own for a few days."
"Why," Maria asked, Damien pinched his lapel, and showed off his stripes, "He didn't."
"He did," Damien said, "I'm officially a member of the Alliance. Carter asked me to accompany him on a small voyage."
"How long?" Maria asked.
"Only four days," Damien said, "Two there, two back."
"Don't stay too long," Maria said, "I expect you back here in four days, I can't run this house along."
A few months after arriving on Mirinoi, Damien's father, Adam took a job with Colonial Defense to 'spend more time with his family'. But ever since he took the job, the exact opposite happened, the hours they had him on kept him at his office from eight in the morning to nearly ten at night. With his father at the office, Damien stepped up, and became the de facto 'man of the house'.
The Next Day…
A crowd of families gathered in the dockyard as the United prepared to leave on its first voyage, dressed in his blue digital-camo uniform, he gave his mother one last hug, "Make sure to keep your eyes open," Maria said, "You never know what you might find on those planets."
"I'll be fine," Damien said, "We'll be alright, we got the great Major Grayson. What can go wrong?"
"Take care," Ellen said as she hugged her brother.
"I will," Damien said as he picked up his duffle bag, "Tell dad I'm sorry I couldn't say goodbye."
Damien walked back towards the ship where his friends had just said goodbye to their families, as they climbed through the docking tube to get to the ship, Damien looked back, and waved once more to his mother and sister, not knowing that that was the last time he would see them, unchanged.
Back on Earth…
What remained of humanity on Earth had been enslaved by the Serpent Empire, those that didn't comply with the new rules of Earth were subjugated to the torturous pain associated with getting bitten by a venomous snake.
The Emperor of the Serpent Empire sat in his throne which was high in the back so his servants couldn't see him unless he turned around. His palace had been constructed in the Nan Ling mountains where his smaller, slithering, hooded cousins lived. The throne room had a reddish hue because of the fires he used to light the room.
The doors to his palace opened, and two of his elite guards, the Re-Gis entered, dressed in their Ancient-Roman-style golden armor, carrying their pikes entered, and right behind them was Gaeko, in chains.
The Re-Gis behind him shoved Gaeko to his knees in front of the throne, "Do you know why I have called you, Gaeko?"
"To have me executed?" Gaeko asked.
"No," the Emperor said as he reached his hand over the arm of the chair to reveal his sharp talons, and green, scaly arm, he waved his hand, and one of the Re-Gis unlocked the chains, "I'm giving you a chance to regain your stolen honor."
"Thossse teensss." Gaeko said.
"Yes," the Emperor said as he waved his hand showing Damien, Matt, Steven, Jackie, and Lara putting their things away in their room on the United, "They're on their way to investigate a power signature on a planet six point six lightyears away from their new home planet," he then reached down, and pulled a curvy double-shadow knife from what appeared to be his belt, "Will you serve, or will you die?"
Gaeko took knee in front of the throne, "I live to ssserve," he said, "My Lord. What isss they bidding?"
"Good," the Emperor said, "Find them on that planet, destroy them, and bring me that power."
"Yesss," Gaeko said, "My Emperor."
Gaeko stood up, and walked off, The Emperor's Snake-Charmer (Monster-Maker) who looked like a humanoid rattlesnake walked over to the area in front of the throne, "You sure he can do it master?" He asked.
Snake-Charmer's skin looked exactly like rattlesnake skin, he wore a baggy, orange shirt, baggy white skirt that covered the many snakes that made up what made him walk, and wore his rattle, which doubled as his flute around his neck.
"I have some faith," the Emperor said, "But those teens have had training. Should he die, then I don't have to deal with him again. But if he should succeed, then he regains his honor, and he becomes useful again."
"The Massster isss wissse." Snake-Charmer said.
Guess what happens next…