Well it has been a while, but here is Chapter 8, sorry it took so long, but for those of you who read Coming Storms and Communication Interception, like I said I've been having a hard time with school work. Big thanks as well to those who read my side stories and also huge thanks to Gamewizard2008 for the one review, yes it doesn't sound good does it. However, your waiting has been rewarded, here is chapter 8 as well as many of the answers you have been wanting. It drags a bit here and there, but I had a lot to explain so here is chapter 8! PS I will continue with the cheesy, unnecessary quotes.

"For us, the hardest part about learning the truth wasn't accepting it, it was living with." - Numbah 2552/ Fritz Washington

KND Arctic Base: Command Center

Schmitt strode to the other side of the room and opened a wall mounted cabinet, opening it he removed a glass bottle of root beer and 3 glasses, setting them on the holo table before pulling up three chairs along side it. "Sit", he commanded and Nigel and Rachel numbly did as they were told. They could still barely assimilate what they had just seen, the shock of it showed on their faces and they still clutched hands with a death grip. Schmitt eyed them curiously before pouring each of them a glass of root beer saying, "I know how you feel, I felt the same way when I saw real carnage for the first time, but you need to get ahold of yourselves."

He set two of the glasses next to them on the table, pouring a third glass for himself he said, "drink this, it'll make you feel better, it always works for me." Still numb, Rachel and Nigel took the proffered glasses and drank deeply, the familiar tingle of the root beer slid down their throats and over their tongues, igniting fond memories of times spent with friends in soda bars and lunch rooms. Schmitt too drank, draining his cup in seconds before pouring himself another glass, he did the same for the other two. Slowly, Nigel and Rachel began to feel themselves again, the root beer pulling them back into who they used to be, reminding them of fun times and old faces. However, those memories clashed brutally with the reality they had just witnessed, and as they continued to drink, the conflicting emotions of the two sets of memories dueled inside their heads, fighting for dominance.

Finally the positive side won out. They both gasped from the experience, lowering their cups in unison. They still looked a bit shocked, but their startled faces had softened and they no longer looked as stiff and pale as they had minutes earlier. Nigel breathed, "thats some... good stuff", he said, eyeing the rest of his root beer and then looking to Schmitt, "where did you get it?" Schmitt smiled, "I make it myself, I always keep a special homemade stash here at Arctic Base, for those little times when I drop in." He offered them a third helping and they took it graciously. Leaning back in his chair, Schmitt's expression grew stern, "you two need to watch out for that, the KND can't afford to have it's too top commanders phasing out from shell shock at a time like this."

"No" Rachel's expression was serious, though she hated to agree with him, "we can't, we need to be ready for anything at any second, we should have been ready for anything at any second." Schmitt's expression softened, "don't be too hard on yourself, this is only your first war after all, everyone goes through the same effects, it'll pass and you'll get used to it." "Thats a frightening thought", exclaimed Nigel, "to get used to something like this on a daily basis, it's unthinkable." "Nonsense, why do you think adults condition their soldiers so hard", retorted the admiral, "they do this sort of thing everyday."

Rachel gritted her teeth, "we aren't adults, we're just kids", she shot back, "we were never meant for this sort of fight." The admiral narrowed his eyes, "no", he stated adamantly, "anyone is capable of anything and before this war is over you will know just how far that extends." "I don't want to know though", Rachel erupted in exasperation, "I don't want to know any of this, I want this war to be over, too many have died already. We're kids, KND, we fight for kid's rights, we don't conquer nations or wage wars, and we certainly aren't killers!" She put her head in her hands, exhausted, Nigel put a comforting hand on her shoulder and turned back to the admiral, "is there any way we can stop this now, can we... I don't know, negotiate?"

"Arthurs will not negotiate, he knows he has the upper hand and now with the adults and teenagers gone or in disarray, he knows that we have no one to turn to. There would be no negotiations, only terms of surrender." Nigel grimaced, "and what would those conditions be?" "Knowing Arthurs, they'd be unconditional", replied Schmitt, "and even if he did take the Earth, I have no clue as to what he would do with it or the KND afterwards." Schmitt's eyes narrowed, "besides, I have no intention of surrendering anyway." "I don't think your in any position to make that decision for the KND", piped up Rachel, steely, "I'm still Supreme Leader here, if surrendering the KND saves lives, I see no reason why we shouldn't." Schmitt gritted his teeth, "be that as it may, I'm pretty sure there'd be some opposition to that order..." He let the thinly veiled threat hang there for a second before continuing, "besides, I don't think you're prepared to hand over the entire planet to an army that just unilaterally declared war on you and murdered hundreds of your own troops on the same day?"

Rachel and Nigel exchanged glances, "give us a moment." "Fine", replied Schmitt nonchalantly, as he reclined in his chair, "but you better make it fast, I estimate that Arthurs' troops will be here in half an hour at least, so if theres anything you want to ask me you better ask it quick." Rachel glared at the smug admiral, before turning and huddling next to Nigel, she whispered, "ok, can we trust him?" "Of course not", replied Nigel obstinately, "but... he does know a lot about all this." Rachel nodded, "we can't afford not to take this chance, but what if he lies to us? How will we know?" Nigel bit his lip in thought, then replied, "we're just going to have to take that chance, we have to try and get something useful out of him." Rachel nodded in agreement, but before she could turn away, Nigel grabbed her shoulder and added, "I have to know though, would you really hand over the entire planet if they gave you an option, what happened to the KND never quits?" "You know this is much different from what we're used to dealing with", countered Rachel, "we can't get hung up on policies like that when the fate of the Earth is at stake." But she relented, "even if they gave me the option, I wouldn't take it, not after seeing what they did to the fleet and the Moonbase. Besides, its not like the whole world would listen to the KND anyway."

Nigel smiled softly, happy that this wouldn't cause any friction between them; they both turned back to the admiral. "Ready", asked Schmitt. Nigel replied, "yes, but first. Earlier you said that there were some things you wouldn't reveal, why the change of heart?" Schmitt's expression was dead serious, "like I said, there are things I will not tell you, but...", he narrowed his eyes, "I can't expect you to fight this war without first knowing the enemy you face, members of the fleet were given basic information about the Confederacy and... my organization. Its only right that you should know these things too now." Rachel raised an eyebrow, "your organization?" Schmitt frowned, "nation to be more exact, I believe I mentioned it once before, the Federation." "Ok then", said Rachel, relaxing in her chair, "start with that, what is the Federation?"

Schmitt refilled his cup and took a swig, "thats a pretty vague question..." "Then give us the basics", snapped Rachel impatiently, "give us an overview, what is the Federation?" Schmitt placed his cup back on the table and began, "the United Systems Federation to be exact. Its an intergalactic government of unified solar systems, ruled by an alliance of kids and teenagers. Ostensibly, we're isolationists, we keep to our own and don't tend to get involved in the affairs of the galaxy at large... or we used to anyway." Considering what had already happened today, Nigel was hardly surprised by the information, "how did it begin", he asked, "and did you just say 'teenagers' were involved?"

"Yes", replied Schmitt, "the Federation was created over a millennia years ago by both teens and kids, seeking to escape from the tyrannical reign of the adults on their home planets, the kids and teens formed an alliance and took to the stars, using early pieces of 2x4 technology to exceed adult capabilities. The Federation was first established in a few isolated solar systems and over the years it grew and expanded. Today, the Federation encompasses roughly over two hundred star systems composed of fully colonized and occupied worlds and that does not take into account the dozens of far flung outer colonies and agricultural worlds we also possess."

He stopped to give them a chance to ask more, but their minds were too busy absorbing what they'd just heard, an entire civilization of kids and teens, living free from adults, Nigel's mind reeled, but... kids and teens?! How is that even possible? "How do you keep the peace between kids and teenagers", he asked, "are there... separate planets for the two?" Schmitt's nodded understandingly, "I thought this might be an issue, there's no need to keep the peace between kids and teens because the two groups are at peace in the Federation. Honestly, we've never had issues with teenagers like you've had, so there's never been a need to mediate between the two age groups." "But how is that possible" asked Nigel, confusion spreading across his face, "how can kids and teens live together peacefully?"

Schmitt sighed, "the only reason you're not at peace with the teens here is because the adults turned them against you." Schmitt reached for the bottle to pour himself another cup, "in the beginning, the adults turned the teens against children by promising them all the things they wanted in return for service: more privileges, bigger allowances, cooler bikes, small things like that. They filled their heads with ideas about teenage superiority and they supported these claims by saying that teens are almost adults already and since adults are 'better' than kids, logically they are too." His smile turned into a frown as he continued, "this is honestly the basis for all adult logic, since they're older it automatically makes them and anything they think of or create is automatically better as well. This concept of automatic superiority based solely on age is idiotic when you think about it, but that makes sense seeing as how its the starting point for all adult arrogance."

Nigel and Rachel shared a confused glance, "okay...", muttered Rachel, "I got the part about teens and kids, go back to that." "Right... sorry", replied Schmitt with a hint of mild annoyance, "well as I was saying, teens in the USF have never seen adults, they grow up within the Federation and what they are taught there is all they know, they have no reason to attack children as they're given all the same opportunities and benefits and there is little different between them except in height, age and interests." Schmitt stared hard at Nigel and Rachel, "I hardly expect you to understand this as well though, you've grown up fighting teenagers, enduring torments and cruelty from them throughout your lives and hitting back just as hard, it's all you know."

Rachel looked skeptical, "you're right, I don't understand that and I also can't believe that teens in the USF are any different from the ones down here and even if they are, the ones down here still had a choice, in fact most of them were KND operatives before they left or were decommissioned and they still choose the adults over us." Schmitt sighed again, "thats because you ostracized them, you drove them away with your distrust and your mis-understandings, heck, most of the teenagers who join the adults from the KND are operatives who just didn't want to be decommissioned. It's your own fault for turning so many of your own people against you." "But if we don't decommission them", shot back Rachel angrily, "then when they become adults, they'd know all our secrets and then they could take us down easy."

Schmitt rolled his eyes, "but if they were truly loyal to the KND in the first place, then they would never turn over your secrets and there are even adults in this world who are willing to help kids even if they weren't KND operatives." He looked over at Nigel, "you've had some experience with that, haven't you Nigel?" Nigel looked a bit sheepish, "an adult named Vin Moosk, he helped me stop the Queen Neck Tie a couple years back, but how do you know about that? That was way before you joined the Kids Next Do...", Nigel caught himself and glared at Schmitt, who simply shrugged in return, "I've kept a close watch on this world and on the KND in particular for a long time." "Which reminds me", said Rachel, turning the conversation back to the matter at hand, "what do you have to do with this invasion and better yet, who are you really?"

Schmitt looked a bit peeved, "I'm still Jaque Schmitt in the Federation if thats what your asking", he indicated one of the patches on his uniform, "I'm an admiral in the Federation as well. Grand Admiral, USF Navy, commander of the first fleet." He went to pour another glass, then stopped himself, setting his cup back on the table and grimacing before continuing, "I'm the highest ranked officer in the whole Navy and as such am responsible for all decisions regarding naval deployment and defense. In the Federation there is a head for the both sections of the military, the Grand Admiral and the Grand General and theres always been a bit of friction between the two, but nothing like this before." "So, you're a military commander", said Nigel, "well, that explains why none of this stuff has any effect on you." Schmitt scoffed at him, "please, I've been doing this for a long time, it's almost second nature at this point. Never gets any easier though, I can tell you that." "How long exactly have you been doing this for", pressed Rachel. "Long enough", he replied adamantly, Rachel frowned at him.

"Don't give us that", snapped Nigel irritably, "you keep saying things like 'I've been doing this for a long time' and 'I've been watching for a long time' but you haven't ever actually told us how long, so I want to know, how old are you?" Schmitt narrowed his eyes, "I know you've deduced by this point I'm not as old as I look, but my exact age isn't important right now, next question." "No", cut in Rachel, "this is something we need to know, how old are you?" Schmitt scowled in annoyance, "this is one of those things I'm not going to tell you, besides, the fact that you know I'm not twelve years old basically makes me a teenager in your eyes, but in the end what does that matter in the grand scheme of things right now eh? We're at war, we don't have time to worry about age differences."

"So you admit you're a teenager", Rachel deadpanned. Schmitt groaned, "fine, if it makes you feel better, but what are you gonna do about it? You already don't trust me and in your book I've basically already been thrown out of the KND, so what's the point in pressing the issue? Besides, considering where we are, I'm sure at this point you'd take orders from Father himself if you thought it would give you a chance at victory." Nigel glanced questioningly at Rachel, but she just groaned and gave a small shrug, "well I guess you've got me there. But trust me, we'll be coming back to this later", she promised, "now, tell us everything you know about the Confederacy."

Schmitt relaxed in his chair, "and now we get to this. Where to begin? When the Federation was first being created, a small splinter group arose that wanted to use our new found power to rule, to rid the galaxy of adults by any means necessary and establish a new empire with kid kind at its head." He narrowed his eyes, "they called themselves: the Kids Militiant Confederacy."

Nigel and Rachel shared a quick glance, "so they've been around for quite a while", insinuated Nigel, "I would have thought, what with all your super advanced technology, that you'd have been able to beat a small group of galactic extremist's by now?" Schmitt grunted in frustration, "its not that simple, they're a slippery bunch and they don't usually gather in one place or launch large scale attacks like this. For the past couple of decades they've resigned themselves to pirating and raiding the outer colonies." He scratched his chin in thought, "they're a dedicated bunch, they hang on with tooth and claw right to the bitter end, its a bit admirable in some sense."

He sighed,"but for all that, they're still just a group of extremist rebels and radicals. The majority of our society was willing to put aside our old grudge with the adults and live peacefully in space with our new technology, but nooooo, those bastards had to go stir up trouble, and in the end, a century shy of a thousand years ago, we got a civil war. Half sided with the Confederacy, the other half stayed with the fledgling USF." He sighed, "the war only lasted four months, but in that time thousands died, when it was all over the remains of the Confederacy refused to accept our terms of surrender and instead, fled en mass to the stars." Nigel gave Schmitt a quizzical look, "so your great Federation was almost destroyed in a civil war, I guess you guys aren't so high and mighty after all."

Schmitt gritted his teeth, "maybe not, but neither are you either! I don't see our planets getting invaded and torched, do you?" "No I don't", replied Nigel angrily, "but thats because we didn't even know you existed until your rebels dropped in to invade us!" Schmitt looked like he wanted to say more, but he restrained himself, "this is getting us no where, lets get back to the matter at hand." "...Fine", relented Nigel irritably. "Anyhow", continued Schmitt, "that's the gist of how the Confederacy got started and for the past nine hundred years or so they've sulked around on the borders of the Federation raiding supply lines and just generally screwing with us. Then of course there was the 3rd System War, our second major conflict with the Confederacy."

"3rd", asked Rachel, arching an eyebrow. Schmitt waved off her comment, "the other two aren't really important right now, the 3rd war was our most recent clash with the Confederacy. Having lain dormant for the better part of seven hundred years, they suddenly launched a unilateral invasion of the Federation, having built up a new military at their secret high command facility which...", he groaned, "we still have yet to find. This war dragged on for the better part of three years, mainly due to the fact that at the time, both sides were fairly evenly matched in terms of weapons and technology. The Confederate's finally starting losing due to the slow deterioration of their supply lines and their main force was cornered in the key system of Charon Serpentis. It was there that the Confederate's supreme commander, the Sky Marshall Imnis, made his final stand against Federation forces. The final battle there ended with his defeat and the destruction of his fleet."

"The surviving Confederates from the invasion force abandoned their positions and retreated to a series of hidden bases on the outskirts of Federation space, where till this day, they have conducted a campaign of guerilla warfare against the Federation. Much of what is being thrown against the Earth today is no doubt from the remains of that old invasion force." "Alright", acknowledged Rachel, "so you must be pretty familiar with their capabilities then, right?" Schmitt made a face bordering on distaste, "this is where things get complicated." He leaned back in his chair, "in all honesty, pound for pound a KND operative is twice the soldier of any Confederate regular. You're better and more extensively trained, conditioned for fighting in almost any environment and you are all experts when it comes to hand to hand combat."

Schmitt gestured towards the array of 2x4 technology lining the walls of the command center, "where you fall short is in three specific categories. Firstly, the KND is not an army, you are trained to act individually on a small, strategic basis and you are equipped as such. The KND is not designed for fighting prolonged, large scale battles, you lack the infrastructure, organization and manufacturing base of a strong military force. Secondly, KND operatives are not trained for the rigors and stress of real combat. You have all the combat training you need, but not the discipline or strength to apply it. KND operatives can face ice cream blasts and vegetable weapons like raindrops, but are likely to turn tail when faced with bullets and shells."

Schmitt scowled, "outbreaks of PTSD and shell shock will no doubt run rampant in the coming days. Simply put, KND operatives are trained to fight, not kill. The Confederates are trained to do both and they have experience at both. Finally, your technology." He kicked the table for emphasis, "half of it is useless to us at this stage, your more creative weapons like the stopping power to penetrate even light armor, let alone kill. Half of your vehicles serve only a single, specialized purpose and a great deal of your equipment is temperamental at best and downright delicate at the worst." He shrugged, "not much to work with you can see."

"We'll adapt", asserted Rachel, "more weapons can be, vehicles can be repurposed or cannibalized and I suspect we'll be getting plenty of experience with... killing, in the next few days." Schmitt smiled, "I forgot to add that you have excellent fighting spirit." He took a swig from his cup, "we'll reorganize, I have no doubt about that, luckily I started early with the fleet." "About that", Rachel said irritably, "you knew all of this was coming and yet you didn't tell us! WHY?" Schmitt's smile turned into a frown, "simply put, you didn't need to know. I had things covered, or I thought I did at least, and if things had gone off without a hitch I'd have been out of here by now, so what would have been the point in telling you?"

"THAT'S YOUR EXCUSE", raged Rachel, "YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD 'HANDLE' IT! Well great job Admiral, you certainly 'handled' it alright!" Schmitt groaned, "can we dispense with the sarcasm please." "Seriously though", Rachel ignored him, "an army of murderous kids sets it's sights on the Earth and you don't think for a moment that this is something the SUPREME COMMANDER of the KND needs to know!" "This isn't the invasion I was anticipating", snapped Schmitt, "I didn't know the Confederates would be the ones invading! This was supposed to be a small, occupation force of lightly armed Federation Colonial forces! Not a Confederate army! My fleet could have handled that force all on it's own, the original plan was to put up a show of force and prove to the Federation that the Earth had the military power to resist an invasion, that would have forced the High Council to reconsider their plans and it would have given me more time to prevent future actions against the Earth!"

"That's all this is then", Rachel demanded, "intergalactic politics?!" Schmitt looked uncomfortable, "on a base level... yes. Or it was, until the Confederates showed up and turned this whole thing into a full on war!" "Guys", interjected Nigel, "we're getting off topic and we have limited time." He turned to Schmitt, "what do we have that stand up to the Confederates?" Schmitt shrugged, "plenty of things, your laser weapons for one, and your ships are up to par when it comes to basic military standards, we only need to refit them all for combat." "I meant", interrupted Nigel, "what do we have NOW? What do our forces look like?"

Schmitt sighed, "without the fleet? We have the remaining fleet marines and their transport craft, as well as a few ships from the fleet left. We have the global forces of the KND, unprepared and untrained as they are, along with their constituent complements of weapons and vehicles and finally the treehouse bases themselves. Add that all together and we have a pretty extensive arsenal, albeit without the manufacturing basis to make more or fight a prolonged conflict." He groaned, "if only I'd had more time and...", he glanced at Rachel with a hint of annoyance, "official permission, I could have trained more of the KND's overall forces to be a competent fighting force." "Well that's not going to happen", said Rachel, stating the obvious, "we'll just have to hope your fleet's marines will be enough for now." "Oh they're competent fighters no doubt", agreed Schmitt, "well trained and equipped. They're ready for this fight, but there definitely aren't enough of them to go around." "I'd love to know how you managed to train regular kids to be competent soldiers in just a few months", admitted Nigel, "it took me almost a full year to get used to life in the KND." Schmitt grimaced, "trust me, you don't want to know the specifics."

"Well you've explained the Federation and the Confederacy", admitted Rachel, "but, I still don't understand is why a Federation general is leading a Confederate army against the KND?" "That", responded Schmitt, "is a very complicated question and one that I don't have all the answers too to begin with, so here's what I know."

He steepled his fingers and leaned back into his chair, "before all of this began, the Federation had just finished fighting a long and bloody ten year war: the Great Galactic War or GGW. When the war was over, everyone was tired of fighting and the war had gone on for so long that morale and resources were exceedingly low, many people believed that the war had been totally pointless and lost touch with reality, few people could stomach so much bloodshed without reason." Nigel's curiosity was piqued, "who were you fighting against?" "Aliens", replied the Admiral matter-of-factly, "they're called Samteerians, the Samteerian Empire before the war was one of the 4 galactic superpowers, along with us, the Federation and two others: the Solar Planet Coalition or SPC and the Zigaren Republic."

"So aliens do exist", muttered Nigel, "go figure." "And we're supposed to just take that at face value", demanded Rachel with a raised eyebrow. Schmitt shrugged, "its not all that relevant to our current situation so you can take it or leave, the point is we were fighting a war with aliens, aliens that, like the adults, believed that they were superior to pretty much all other forms of life. In accordance with their superiority they believed that it was their right to rule the galaxy." Schmitt shrugged, "you can pretty much guess what happened from there, the Samteerians attacked, we fought back, in the end the galaxy divided between two sides, the Empire and the SPC on one side and us and the Zigarens on the other."

"The war ended with the razing of Samteerian's capital and home world, after the war the Empire broke up into numerous splinter groups and factions, so they don't really pose that much of a threat today, the SPC pretty much gave up after that and that's how we won the war." He sighed, "this is where Arthurs fits in, he gained a great deal of prominence from his actions during the war and began rising in popularity after it's end." A tired look sprang into Jack's eyes and he leaned his elbow against the table, resting his head on his fist, "we really should have suspected that he was a confederate back then, he was the one to originally propose the invasion plan once we noticed the adults were getting out of hand."

Schmitt stared into his root beer, "he was always somewhat radical in his beliefs, many people did consider him to be at least somewhat sympathetic to the Confederate cause, but this?" He shook his head, "no one expected this. That was why no one challenged his reasoning, no one opposed his views or his push for an invasion." Schmitt grunted, "no one accept me anyway." "But why turn traitor", demanded Rachel, "what does he want?!" Schmitt shrugged, "who can say? Arthurs has always had his own agenda, I've known that since the first day I started working with him. Maybe he has some lofty plan in mind, maybe he just did it for the sake of ego, or maybe he just decided to finally switch sides." Schmitt slumped in his chair, "the point is it happened. God, the fallout for this in the Federation is going to be huge when this is over."

"I don't understand", Rachel was getting exasperated, "if you opposed the invasion so much, how did you end up working with Arthurs?" "Because I didn't have a choice", snapped Schmitt, "he had the backing of the military High Command and the High Council, I may have power as Grand Admiral of the Navy, but even I can't stand against the entire Federation government! High Command demanded that as the commanders of the Federation's military we work together on the project, my hands were tied! Building the fleet here on Earth in secret was the only way I could oppose the invasion!" "But why Earth", demanded Rachel, "what makes us so special?! What about other adult planets? I thought the GKND said that adulthood was a disease, spreading across planets across the galaxy?!"

Schmitt laughed, "you bought that crap! That's just a bunch BS concocted by the Confederates to ease KND personnel into life in the galaxy. In truth the GKND IS the Confederacy, they just don't want you knowing about all the dark, militant stuff they deal in right off the bat, not until you're so far gone there's no turning back. And there are no more adult planets, well... not quite. If you count all the planets ruled by aliens, I suppose they could count as adults. However, aliens interact with their young in ways that vary greatly compared to how things on Earth are. Factor in differences in culture and you really can't judge them by the same standards as human adults. But to put it simply, this is the only planet with human adults on it."

"That still doesn't explain why the Confederacy is targeting Earth specifically", pointed out Nigel, "and what was all of that stuff about me being Arthurs' top agent?" Schmitt slouched in his chair, "as far as I know, you and several other KND personnel were chosen by the Confederates to be recruited into an elite spec-ops unit. Like I said, the KND provides excellent combat training, far exceeding the basics of the Confederacy, being one of the KND's best fighters and leaders you were an obvious choice for the program. I was here the entire time you were gone, so I can only imagine what the Confederacy had you do in that time, but whatever it was..." He grinned, "you were apparently extremely effective."

"But..but...", stammered Nigel, "why can't I remember anything? And why would I help a bunch of adult hating kid extremists?" "That", replied Schmitt, in a considerate voice, "is a question that only you and Arthurs can answer and unless you do surrender, I don't think the latter is going to oblige you anytime soon, though its safe to say your not working for them now." Nigel looked confused, "what do you mean, of course I'm not working for them any more." Schmitt shrugged, "one can't be too sure, though that memory test they gave you worked out, I had to make sure for myself." "Wait, thats the reason you put on that whole display in the med bay", asked Nigel, "to make sure I wasn't an agent?"

Schmitt shrugged again, "couldn't be too careful, I mean I had just met you and under the circumstances it was a possibility, but you checked out." "Nice to see I meet your approval", replied Nigel, sarcastically. Schmitt smirked, "who said anything about that." Rachel put up her hands, "Okay, we're getting off topic here", she turned to Schmitt, "and what about Earth? How do we fit into all of this?"

"As for the, Earth well...", Schmitt trailed off, "I have a... theory, that I'm working on, but nothing concrete yet. As far as you need to know, they're here to finally wipe out the adults once and for all, like they tried to do all those centuries ago during the Civil War." "So I guess there was a Splinter Cell after all", muttered Rachel, "but I don't understand why they hate adults so much! Sure, we don't like them, but this is just..." "That", interrupted Schmitt, "is a very delicate question, with an extremely complex answer that we don't have time to discuss right now." Rachel grumbled to herself, "why was an invasion ordered in the first place?! You said the adults were to blame?"

Schmitt sighed deeply, "the adults and the KND were both part of the issue. You're civilization is relatively undeveloped by galactic standards, and as such you still don't have confirmation of intelligent life beyond this solar system. Now you and the adults have begun to rapidly expand your space operations in the last few decades, the adults are considering building a moonbase as you know and the KND itself has been making plans to establish stations near the other planets and in the asteroid belt for some time." Schmitt gripped his cup tightly, "the KND's growing space activity led the System Command to investigate current events on Earth. The KND is not ready to meet the galaxy at large and the Federation at large refuses to allow the adults of Earth to expand beyond their planet, so an occupation was proposed to subdue you. Arthurs championed the cause and got the motion pushed through the Senate, the rest you know."

"We're not ready", demanded Rachel, a tad angrily, "not ready for what?" Schmitt's eyes narrowed, "the fact that you weren't prepared for the Confederates is explanation enough, the galaxy beyond this solar system would eat you alive." "Well fine, answer me this then: can we beat the Confederates?" Schmitt sighed, "as we are now? No. Even if the KND was fully outfitted and trained to fight this war, we don't have the numbers and they caught us by surprise, too much damage has been done already. We can fight, but all we can do is prolong the inevitable."

"I refuse to believe that", snapped Rachel, "there's always a way to win! We just have to find it!" Schmitt grumbled to himself and suddenly slammed his cup down on the table, "you're stubborn, I'll give you kids credit for that. But you have to face the facts, the best we can do in this situation is survive." Schmitt downed the last of his root beer and crushed his cup in his fist, "goddamn Arthurs", he spat. "Well at least you're here", said Nigel, trying to sound sincere, "you can help us fight, right?" Schmitt's eyes hardened and he looked across the room at the monitors in thought. When he finally spoke, his voice was very soft, "I have no love for adults, I'm only doing this for the KND and for Earth, the Confederacy has no right coming back here." "Wait, what do you mean back here?", questioned Rachel, but Schmitt was too busy to hear and kept on talking to himself, "if only we'd had more time, I was expecting Arthurs to invade at least a month from now, by that time the fleet would have been fully equipped and trained and I would have had time to get an anti-orbital defense screen running, but then he went and moved up the schedule. Very coincidental, I suspect thats because he caught on to what I was doing."

"Ok", interjected Nigel, "so if we can't win, why can't we just call the Federation, tell them their Grand General is a traitor and get them to intervene?" Schmitt grimaced, "two reasons: one, Arthurs is currently jamming any long range transmission from leaving the planet, so we'd need to make a call from outside the blockade. Two, the only person who could do something about this is on a secure, encrypted comm frequency that I can only reach with a special communicator I keep stashed in my quarters on the Moonbase." "And, why didn't you grab that when we were on the Moonbase", Nigel demanded, exasperated. Schmitt shrugged again, "the thing's almost as tall as me and weighs about a ton, what was I supposed to do?" Rolling his eyes, Nigel asked, "so if that options out of the picture, why can't we just fly to the Federation and ask for their help? What's the nearest Federation world anyway?"

"Mars, but that doesn't do us any good, no ship we have could break the Confederate blockade", replied Schmitt in an irritated tone. "Wait? MARS", exclaimed Rachel incredulously, "you couldn't be that close to us, we've had ships flying over Mars for years and we've never seen anything!" "All in system traffic employ special cloaking devices that hide them from sight and sensors used by the adults and KND", replied Schmitt, "also all cities on the planet are located underground, its a precaution we take when settling in a system with an occupied world." "But.. how have we never hit one of your ships?" Rachel was grasping at straws, "and also, why can't they see whats happening here then?" "We're very methodical in our security measures", was all Schmitt said, "and everyone expects the invasion to be progressing on course, civilian ships aren't allowed in this zone and military aren't allowed either without permission from Arthurs. They're hiding in plain sight for lack of a better word." "I still can't believe that the Federation is less than a planet away and yet there is nothing you can do to reach them", snarled Rachel, "it eats me up." Schmitt smirked, "how do you think I feel?"

Then Rachel remembered her earlier question and she again asked, "what did you mean when you said the Confederacy had been here before?" Schmitt's eyes narrowed, his jaw clenched in thought and he seemed to be mulling over something tough. Finally he opened his mouth to speak, but an alarm klaxon cut him off, then a muffed explosion echoed through the base, the roof and walls shaking from the shock wave of the blast. The empty root beer bottle on the table fell over, drizzling onto the floor and the vacant chairs scattered throughout the room jolted about. Schmitt bared his teeth and jumped up out of his chair shouting, "computer, get me a visual!" The main screen in the room jumped to life as a picture of the area outside the base flashed on. A large forcefield now protected the area surrounding the base and in the skies overhead, squadrons of Confederate fighters and bombers converged on the base and in the distance, columns of Confederate infantry could be seen advancing through the snow, their transports could be seen a ways back, tucked behind a series of snowy bluffs. Schmitt groaned, "they got here early."

I hope most of you got the answers you wanted, yes I didn't tell everything, but then where's the suspense and mystery in that? I'm probably going to be focusing more on the effects of the invasion in the next few chapters though expect a big battle to go down in the chapter 9!. Thanks and goodbye... for now!