Chapter 11

Captain Hawk stood alone in a small room on Gamilon. There was just himself, a bed, a small table, and his shame as he waited the verdict from the General's council. He had retreated, and saved most of his ships, but lost the planet he was supposed to have been guarding. The fact that General Peck had ordered him to return was no consolation to either his pride or the council that was attempting to determine whether or not his original tactical withdraw had been appropriate. Part of him wanted to be found guilty and executed, because there was no way he could make amends for what his errors had cost Gamilon.

He had heard the reports of what had happened on Uther after he left. Wholesale genocide of the Gamilons whom he had abandoned, and the indigenous population was forced to worship their new lords as gods. Worse, Uther was now a fortified position for the enemy. On top of that, the spies who had relayed that information had since met with horrible deaths. More deaths he was responsible for.

His side still hurt from the shrapnel that had struck him. He tried to take comfort in that, but knew he deserved a far worse punishment than what fate had dealt him.

The door opened and Talon walked into the room. The General had such a presence that his mere presence in the room made it seem twice a long as it had before.

"Thanks to a moving statement from General Peck and General Auctor, as well as a change in tactics, you have been cleared of all charges." General Talon waited, observing Hawk's reaction to the news.

Hawk swallowed, searching for moisture in his dry throat. He tried to think what that could mean for him, but his brain just didn't seem to be working.

Not quite satisfied with the reaction, Talon half raised an eyebrow and continued. "Our new defense plan is very similar to the maneuver you were planning when you withdrew your forces from Uther. Because of that insight, and a few other considerations, you have been awarded a promotion to Group Captain, and will command the First Defensive Fleet."

Hawk wanted to sit. He wanted to cry for joy, or to cry from outrage. He wanted this chance to make amends for his past mistake. He wanted this chance for revenge. He wanted to see Jarria to tell her about his fears and triumphs.

"You will leave in one hour for your command ship, the Battle Carrier Dommel."

Snapping to attention, Hawk gave his best salute. "Thank you, General."

"Do not thank me, Captain, just prove to us that we made the right decision."

Gladn rushed home from school, running past the square where hundreds of Gamilons had gathered wearing dark robes to protect them from the sun's harsh rays as they did their daily buying and selling at the market shops. The sun didn't bother Gladn as much as it did some of the older citizens. He supposed he was just more use to it.

"Gladn!"

The youth nearly tripped over himself in his attempt to continue going forward to home, while still turning to see who had called his name. It was old Charon, waving and calling from his booth near the edge of the Market Square.

Old Charon had a soft spot for kids, which, of course made him popular with the children who frequented his shop to take advantage of his generosity to get a few extra sweets on top of what they paid for. He also had a printing press in back and printed newsletters, calendars, or just about anything else that was called for. The previous year when Leader Deslock celebrated his birthday, old Charon printed up a few thousand birthday cards that people threw to Deslock as he past by in his parade. Gladn had thought that was a great idea too, but he mainly relied on Charon for an Earth food called chocolate. Charon also specialized in getting any special food imported.

Gladn rushed over to the booth as quickly as he could manage. Charon usually just interacted with those in his shop, he had never before actually called anyone over, so it was probably for something important. "Hi, Charon!"

Charon greeted the youth with a large smile. "I have a special treat for you today, Gladn!" He handed Gladn a stick with a few small hardened yellow clumps at the end. "They don't make this anymore, Gladn, but for you, it's on the house. Royal Bee Jelly dried and preserved to keep its natural flavor. Its one of Deslock's favorite foods."

Not sure what to expect, Gladn tasted it. It completely redefined his definition of what good tasted like… this sweet was unlike anything he had ever tasted before. "It is good. If it's this good and Deslock likes it, why did they stop making it?"

"You've an enquiring mind, lad, that's good, up to a point." The old man smiled, "Let's just say we lost the art of making this ourselves… and the world it comes from no longer exports it." Gladn wanted to inquire further, he disliked such vague answers, but Charon headed them off, "Just put it down to the fortunes of war."

Gladn still wasn't satisfied with that answer, but could tell he wasn't going to get a detailed explanation any time soon, so he simply plunged the stick back into his mouth for another taste.

"You are just about out of school now, aren't you, lad?"

Nodding, Gladn said, "Just a few more days."

"Are you going to join the military?"

Gladn's face betrayed his uncertainty. He paused while trying to think up a good answer. "I haven't decided yet."

For the first time, old Charon's smile reached his eyes. "Well… I was thinking that if you didn't already have a career lined up, that I could make use of a boy like you."

"What, you want me to work here?" Gladn asked. A job working for Charon would the ideal answer to his problems. That, and it would make all the younger children jealous of him.

"No, not here, lad. I've been getting lots of printing orders lately, and I need someone to delver them for me while I run the shop. Ill even let you use my truck."

Smiling, Gladn could do nothing but ask, "When do I start?"

Laughing, Charon said, "How about tomorrow?"

"Ill be here after school then!" Gladn said, and with a wave disappeared into the crowd to continue his walk home.

Once the boy was out of sight, the smile faded from Charon's face as if it had never been there at all. If any had seen him then, they would have thought he looked like he was dead inside. "Thanks lad. I knew I could count on you."

Three Gamilon destroyers fired in vain at their opponents. Their cannons, which were mounted inside round domes, with regularly spaced holes in the sides fired shot after shot. A few of the shots landed, doing negligible damage.

The enemy's counterattack was devastating. Each of the destroyer was rocked heavily with explosions. The enemy fired again, and two of the destroyers exploded instantly.

The third destroyer continued to fire, despite the medium sized hole in its hull, until finally the small ship's engineering crew lost their fight to keep the fire away from the main power reactor. The Destroyer's midsection swelled half a second before the entire ship exploded.

With the small defense fleet, gone, another planet was lost to the Gamilon Empire.