Chapter Summary: Space battles!
Chapter Word Count: 5,831
"Looks like someone was watching them," Jolie's XO said, as Red Alert blared through the Hotep. "Must have noticed when they lost contact with the control ships."
"Where are they?" Jolie said.
"Five Bug mini cruisers inbound," her XO said. "We have thirty ticks before they reach the mining ship stations."
"Not a large fleet like we expected," Jolie said, wishing their personal comms had greater range. "Move to intercept and get me Lady Q."
"Lady Q on the line," the Hotep Comms officer said.
"Lady Q, we have a small fleet of Bug mini cruisers inbound," Jolie said. "You need to get your teams out of there now."
"How much time do we have?" Quinn asked.
"Less than thirty ticks," Jolie said. "Braise and Apolis are redirecting to pick up the teams at their alternate pickups. Polly and Hotep will pick up Gold and Black and prepare to intercept."
"We'll be ready," Quinn said. "Get as much data on those ships as you can. Find some weakness we can use."
"Will do," Jolie said, nodding to her bridge crew, who knew exactly what to do without prompting. The ship's interior lights changed from red to amber as the Hotep prepared for battle.
"What's the status of the retrieval teams?" Jolie asked Yola, day shift Tach officer.
"They've all received the warning and have moved to retreat," Yola said. "All teams report successfully retrieving samples of the material."
"Good," Jolie said. "Now we just need to give them room to escape with the samples. And find out where those Bug ships came from."
"Yes, ma'am," Yola said.
"How are we doing," Quinn asked Jolie over the comm as Gold and Black teams boarded the Hotep.
"Braise and Apolis have picked up the teams with their samples and turned them over to the science team on Braise. Braise is escorting the Alepsos out of the designated battle zone and will be meeting up with the Fleet science ship Hopper in a day. Braise will then head back to join us."
"So, right now we have Hotep, Apolis, and the Polly, and my two troop teams against five Bug minis. Any other resources available?"
"Two additional cruisers left dock at Sol ten minutes ago, but they won't reach us until tomorrow," Jolie said. "If we can hold out for three days there are other ships in the fleet that are headed this way."
"By which time it might be too late," Quinn said. "Any ideas?"
"I don't think you want to try to board any of them in the middle of a battle," Jolie said.
"That has possibilities," Quinn said. "But let's see what kind of damage we can inflict first, before we try that."
"Intercepting in ten," Jolie's XO said.
"All weapons ready," Yola said.
"No desire to negotiate first?" Jolie asked.
"The Bugs? They've never negotiated," Quinn said. "Not in previous incursions and not once during this one."
"Okay," Jolie said. "Just as long as we have the rules of engagement clear."
"Shoot first," Quinn said. "That about sums it up."
"They have us outgunned," Jolie said. "Two we could easily handle but five? Unless they sent cub scouts, and we're lucky, this verges on suicide."
"Have the Alepsos and Braise escaped?" Quinn asked.
"Close enough," Jolie said. "Now we just have to hold off these five until help arrives."
"What about the mining fleet?" Quinn asked.
"Not moving," Jolie said. "They're just sitting there."
"Do they even know we're here?" Quinn said. "The Bug cruisers are headed straight for us."
"Current theory is that the mining fleet is controlled from elsewhere. None of the retrieval teams ran into anything other than a few low level robots. It's likely these are the escort that we missed seeing," Jolie said.
"No indication that they are the only escort?" Quinn said.
"None," Jolie said. "We're still looking for additional Bug ships but they could be beyond our sensor range."
"They'll be within firing range in ten minutes," Yola said. "Orders captain?"
"Let them get closer," Jolie said "Half that distance so we can't miss. If they are using the same kind of shields the other fleet is, the closer they get the better our chances are."
"Yes, ma'am," Yola said.
"What else do we know about them?" Quinn asked. "Which one is the command ship, assuming they have one."
"The one furthest away," Jolie said. "Their usual practice in fleet operations is for the command ship to hang back during the initial wave."
"Can you focus all of your fire on that one?" Quinn asked.
"No," Jolie said. "It's an idea but we would be at the mercy of the other ships getting too close. They have close range weapons we don't have much defense against, even in the Hotep. We have to take them out before they get that close."
"Gold and Black can try to board it," Quinn said. "No reason for us to sit here when we could be doing something useful."
"You'd have to wait until the first wave was finished," Jolie said. "Otherwise you'd get caught in the crossfire. Or they'll pick off your transport."
"Of course," Quinn said. "I'll get Gold and Black ready. Polly has that shuttle we were using earlier. All of Gold and Black can fit in it and it has full stealth capability."
"We'll let you know when it's safe to launch," Jolie said. "And keep your tach systems up to date."
"How's it going?" Quinn asked Kali, who was piloting their boarding craft shuttle.
"Polly has taken serious damage," Kali said, digging through all of the data pouring in from probes and sensors. "It's still moving but it lost half its energy weapons and its shields are at one third power. It's trying to draw off one of the Bug ships."
"And the Hotep?"
"Minor damage to its' shields," Kali said. "Probably a bit rough on the inside. We don't have access to deeper details."
"The Bugs?"
"Two of them are just drifting," Kali said. "Must have taken direct hits. The other three show some damage but are still maneuvering."
"Not as bad as Jolie thought it would be," Quinn said.
"Not yet," Kali said. "The Hotep is a tough ship, and Captain Rogers on the Polly is good at close up fighting."
"Is our mission still a go?" Quinn asked.
"Captain Jolie says 'go for it'," Kali said, relaying the question to the Hotep. "They'll focus on the other Bug ships."
"Got it. Get us as close to that command ship as possible. Everyone buckle up," Quinn told her teams. "We're going in."
The boarding shuttle came to rest against the side of the Bug cruiser. "We have a five tick window before they notice us," Kali said. "Let me know when you need a pick-up."
"Will do," Quinn said, before joining her team at the front of the hatch. "Poll, you've got the lock. Blay, have your team find the engine room and shut it down. We'll head for the battle bridge."
"Yes, Lady Q," Poll and Blay said.
"Opening the hatch," Kali said, pushing some buttons and pulling a lever.
"Go!" Quinn said.
Poll stepped through the shuttle hatch, placing clamps around the perimeter of the Bug ship's hatch, anchoring herself to it while she worked to get the Bug hatch open.
"It uses a quantum code for the lock," Poll said. "This could take a couple minutes."
"You have ninety seconds before they notice us here," Kali said.
Gold and Black teams waited for a tense minute as Poll attacked the lock.
"Got it," Poll said. "Opening in five."
Ready," Quinn said. She counted down, tensing as her count neared the magic number. As the hatch swung inward, she dove through, immediately laying down suppressive charges. Gold and Black teams followed her through, into darkness. Without stopping, she charged through another hatch as it started to close against the change in atmosphere.
Pin and the rest of Gold Team followed, while Blay stopped the inner door from closing.
"Anything?" Quinn said, peering around the large empty chamber.
"No welcoming party," Pin said. "My suit sensors can't penetrate the walls."
"Not getting anything on this either," Poll said, holding up the portable sensor they'd gotten from the Shadows.
"Okay," Quinn said. "That means our comms might not work. Looks like we do this the hard way. Black, you still have engineering and Gold the battle bridge. Let's see if we can cause some disruption to help our people on Polly and the Hotep."
"Can you hear me?" Quinn asked over the comm, trying to reach Blay, Black Team lead. The comms had been working intermittently as they traveled deeper into the ship.
"You're very faint," Blay said, her voice a low whisper.
"Status?" Quinn asked.
"Haven't found the engine room yet," Blay said. "No Bugs either. So far it's like that mining command ship. Empty."
"Same here, but don't get sloppy," Quinn said.
"Aye," Blay said. "We'll let you know when we reach the ship's engine room."
"Nothing so far," Quinn told her team. "They must all be on the bridge or it's another robot ship."
"You think we've been fighting robots?" Pin said. "Or some kind of AI?"
"Can't say," Quinn said, "but we haven't seen any actual Bugs so far. None here, none in the mining ships."
"Maybe they're all in the Bug fleet that Lady Air's fleet is tracking?" Poll said. "Not sure why."
"As much as we know about the bugs, we don't know why they do the things they do," Quinn said. "We didn't know about the mining fleet or its escort. There could be a lot more we don't know."
"They're Bugs," Jeffers said. "They're nuts. They could be trading for the things they want, instead of invading every thousand cycles."
"They may not have anything to trade," Pin said. "Like Lady Q said, no one knows how they think. I think the other fleet is a decoy, like the JJs said, so they can plunder systems with their mining fleet. Even if the decoy fleet has real Bugs in it, they could be remotely controlling these."
"It'd be a bit embarrassing for the other Clans if we defeat a robot Bug fleet that they couldn't handle," Poll said.
"Ladies," Quinn said, "save the speculation for later. This looks like the bridge on their mining Command ship. Let's take a look."
"Blow it up or knock politely?" Pin asked.
"Blow it," Quinn said. "I'm sure they've seen us here already so it isn't going to be a surprise."
"If they know we're here, why not try to stop us?" Pin said. "Not even robots like the mining ship."
"Don't underestimate them," Quinn said. "I know we believe the other fleet is a decoy but even decoys can have teeth. The so called decoy fleet has over a thousand ships in it, a lot of them are warships we have no defenses against yet. Decoy or not, it's still dangerous. And if we take away their mining fleet, they might become more dangerous to get it back."
"Cornered rats," Pin said.
"Door?" Jony said. She placed sensors around the edges. "Doesn't appear to be booby trapped. But it isn't opening to our signal."
"Well, if they didn't know before, they definitely know we're here now," Quinn said. "Blow it."
There was a loud noise in the low air pressure of the hallway, followed by smoke as the door was imploded into the chamber.
Once again, Quinn went in first, followed by Pin and the others. There was no reaction from the room's three occupants.
"Well, that's different," Pin said.
In a triangle in the room were three large devices, almost like chairs. In each one was a creature matching the known descriptions of the Bugs. They had not moved. They appeared to be unaware of Gold Team's presence.
"Zombies?" Pin said, cautiously moving towards one. "I don't think they can see us."
"We really need some tech to look at this. I think they're wired into their ship, controlling it. But why don't they know we're here?" Jeffers said.
"Sensors on the outside, nothing on the inside for them to see in?" Pin said.
"How do we stop them?" Jony said.
"Kill them and it might trigger a self destruct," Quinn said. "We have no idea how this works."
"Knock them out? And hope no one comes to look for them?" Pin said.
"Hey, Lady Q?"
"Yes, Bray?" Quinn said.
"There's something weird going on here. There's something I think is a Bug, sitting in a cocoon. I think they're wired to the ship's engines."
"We have three of them up here in the bridge set up the same way," Quinn said.
"What do we do?" Bray asked.
"We need to stop them," Quinn said. "We don't have time to wait for a Shadow tech. The JJ's are on the Hotep, but we need to deal with this before they can get here."
"Lady Q, I don't think they're alive, like we think of it," Jony said. "I think they're zombies."
"Let's just knock them out then," Quinn said. "Just hope they aren't booby trapped. If they are I'll apologize for getting us killed."
"Drinks are on you in the afterlife, if this blows the ship up," Pin said.
"I've seen her drink," Tarky said. "I'm not sure that's a good idea."
Quinn shook her head. "Let's shock all three at once. And Bray, knock out the Bug in the Engine room. On a count of five."
"One... two... three... four... five... Go"
Quinn, Pin, Poll, and Jony fired knockout blasts at the Bugs in the cocoons, knocking them out.
"Not blown up yet," Pin said. "But we have some flashing lights over there."
"I think we should leave, Lady Q," Jony said. "I have a bad feeling about this."
"I do too," Pin said. "And more flashing symbols. I think the knockout blasts killed them."
"Okay, Bray, meet us at the hatch. If you get there before we do, signal for retrieval," Quinn said.
"Okay," Bray said. "Black team heading for the exit."
"Everyone out," Quinn said. "Run your scanners at full blast as you go. Let's try to get as much info as we can as we leave."
"Leave a probe?" Pin asked.
"No, we don't know what is going to happen. We don't want the Bugs to be able to analyze our tech," Quinn said.
"All here?" Quinn asked, as they waited for Kali and the shuttle. The Bug ship briefly shook.
"Did we kill the ship?" Pip said. "It hasn't blown up yet."
"Knocking out their crew seems to have done something," Quinn said. "Could be a self destruct. Could be some automatic response that'll send it home. They could be waking up."
"So, we've seen the Bugs and we've survived," Pip said. "Those count as Bugs, right?"
"Not warrior bugs," Quinn said. "Ship's crew. Take away their ship and they're probably defenseless."
"I'm sure we'll get a chance to test ourselves against Bug warriors," Jony said. "There must be some in that other fleet. A thousand ships? It might be their whole civilization come calling. Must be warriors in there somewhere."
"If it's their entire civilization, should we be trying to destroy them?" Jeffers said.
"Well, we aren't trying to destroy them, exactly," Quinn said. "More that we're directing them away from us, and killing as many as possible to discourage them from coming back."
"And if 'as many as possible' is all of them?" Jeffers asked. "Isn't that genocide? Then what?"
"We tell our goddesses we're sorry, and the Weaver says a prayer or two to send them on their way, and we move on with our lives," Quinn said.
"It doesn't feel right," Jeffers said. "When we go into battle, we know we're not fighting defenseless creatures. But if they have no choice, then what do we do?"
"They're coming here, destroying everything in their path, including inhabited planets," Pip said. "If they were just migrating through our sector, guiding them away from habitable planets would be fine. But as we can see here, and with the mining fleet, they're plundering our resources, and not paying us for them even. Killing whole societies. The Juun at Chandar? They died."
The loud clacking of the shuttle bumping against the Bug ship stopped Pip's speech. They all retreated back into the shuttle, closed the hatch and the shuttle flew away from the ship.
"What's it doing now?" Quinn asked. "Are they still attacking?"
"No," Kali said. "They stopped suddenly and have just been sitting there. The Hotep was able to damage the other two ships before we noticed they'd stopped. What did you do?"
"We might have knocked out their crew," Poll said. "They were like zombies in huge cocoons."
"The analysis can wait until we get back to the Hotep," Quinn said.
"So the crew of the mining fleet escort was wired to their ship," Brittany said. "There are ancient stories of similar things, but no one uses that control technique in the Confederation now. Certainly not the Bugs as far as was known."
"Have the samples from the mining ships been examined yet?" Quinn asked. "What are they and where are they from?"
"Of the eight samples, our science team only recognized three of them. All of those are very rare elements only found in a few systems. One came from Blue Clan territory, another from the Wind Clan, and the third from a system in Tiger Clan territory."
"So they must have destroyed the systems where those elements were found," Quinn said. "Were there active civilizations on those worlds?"
"Not that the Galactics were aware of," Brittany said. "If those three systems were inhabited it was with mining colonies like Chandar. But there have been no reports of their destruction so it's possible they were uninhabited. There wouldn't have been enough of the elements in any of those systems for there to be any mining."
"And the other five?" Quinn asked.
"Unknown elements," Brittany said. "They might have been synthesized from other elements the Bugs found or they aren't from known systems."
"What are you going to do with them?" Quinn asked.
"They are important enough that the Bugs destroyed systems to get them," Brittany said. "So the science teams will be trying to find out what they can do with them. The escort ships and the mining ships you've captured will hopefully tell us something."
"Santana said she'd send out some guard ships, and crews to move them all to a safe space," Quinn said.
"Yes," Brittany said. "They might just help us defeat the Bugs. No one has ever captured a complete Bug ship intact until now. They're invaluable."
"Good," Quinn said. "Still haven't tested my troopers against any Bug warriors."
"Well, the probe against the main Bug fleet hasn't happened yet," Brittany said. "As soon as Santana sends a relief force, you can take over that again and finish it."
"Well, if it turns out to be another robot fleet, my Teams are going to be disappointed," Quinn said. "We boarded multiple Bug ships and the only ones we've seen were those wired up crew on the one cruiser."
"There are real Bugs on those ships," Brittany said. "More than enough for us to handle. The idea that it's a decoy fleet for the mining fleet is an interesting idea but now I'm sure it isn't. It really is their main fleet. They just happened to have that mining fleet operating under the radar with its escort."
"Is the Bug fleet still headed directly to the center of our sector?" Quinn asked.
"Same as always," Brittany said. "Hasn't changed course one bit since we started tracking it. If we don't stop it it will roll right over our favorite planet."
"Won't they become more aggressive now that we've taken their mining fleet?" Quinn asked.
"Given that we don't know anything about internal Bug politics or organization, I'd guess that the mining fleet was some Bug's private project. Probably a get rich quick scheme tied to their trip through the galaxy. It might be something done every trip through but it seems to be something they don't want anyone to know about. I would guess that after losing the escort nothing more will happen."
"Well, it's as good a theory as any," Quinn said. "Just as long as this helps us defeat the main fleet."
"Even if it doesn't, there are other options being explored. I'm not ready to quit," Brittany said. "We will defeat them, and they won't be coming back around here in a thousand cycles if I can help it."
"Good," Quinn said. "And I need to go. Are we sending the JJ's back when we're done?"
"I'd like to assign them and their team to work with you on a permanent basis," Brittany said. "They seem to get the best results when working with your Gold Team."
"Do you have to?" Quinn said, trying to keep the whining out of her voice.
"But I thought you liked them?" Brittany said, giggling. "Whenever they get in trouble you're the first to defend them."
"I might find them occasionally amusing," Quinn said. "Doesn't mean I want them around all the time."
"Well, they're yours for now. Use them in any way you can, while you can. After the Bugs are gone I have plans for them," she told Quinn.
"Okay," Quinn said, grumbling under her breath.
"We're back, did you miss us?" Joy said, perching on Quinn's desk in her office on the Alepsos.
"No," Quinn said, glaring at Joy and Janice. "And don't you have things you should be doing?"
"Like what?" Janice said.
"You and your team need to be preparing for your part in our recon of the main Bug fleet," Quinn said. "It'll be different than what we ran into here. It should have live Bugs, and not the zombie Bugs and robots we ran into with the mining fleet."
"Recon? Us?" Janice said, staring at Quinn. "When did that happen?"
"Lady Shadow gave you and your entire team to me," Quinn said, smirking at the surprised looks on their faces. "From now on you're part of my command. And I've decided that the best place for you is with the Shadow recon team."
"Well, that does require some sneaking around," Joy said. "A good use of our sneakiness."
"But it's more stress than adventure," Janice said. "And we've done the stress thing already."
"This is an excellent opportunity to practice your stealth," Quinn said. "And you can teach Black Team everything they need to know to work with you. In fact, your entire team will be bunking down with Black Team."
"But what about our pool table?" Joy asked. "It doesn't fit down in the barracks used by Black Team."
"A pool table is not a mission necessity," Quinn said. "You'll have to find it a new home or return it to the recycler."
"That took a month's worth of synthesizer credits to make," Joy said, pouting. "We can't just give it away."
"Then you need to do something with it, before someone else does," Quinn said.
"Yes, Boss," Joy said, slipping off of Quinn's desk. "Let's go tell the gang," she said to Janice.
"That must have shocked them when they found out," Rachel said, later that day, as they caught up over the comm. "They're some of Brittany's favorite Shadows. I'm surprised she gave them to you."
"It's not permanent," Quinn said. "As soon as the Bugs are defeated they go back to a regular posting in the Shadows, but until then they're all mine."
"You've had a Shadow liaison for a while," Rachel said. "What's so different about this?"
"Simple," Quinn said. "They're another one of my teams, and not an afterthought. I no longer have to ask for a Shadow Team when I need their expertise. I've got them now."
"I wonder what Brittany has planned," Rachel said. "She doesn't just move her resources around like that without some good reason."
"Her model probably says one of my future missions goes from suicide mission to walk in the park if they are part of it, but not just casual members. That's my guess anyway," Quinn said. "Looking at the Shadow model gives me a splitting headache. Brittany lives and breaths the stuff."
"That's because it's been ninety-nine percent accurate, so far," Rachel said. "It can't see into the future because there are always too many unknowns in her model, but it can guide us fairly accurately. I think it's using some sort of special magic."
"However she does it, that's a big part of her prediction that has us defeating the Bugs," Quinn said.
"It's something only she can do," Rachel said, nodding. "Though I do wonder if the twins, Caroline and Cassidy, could have the same ability if trained."
"You'd have to fight Miranda and Andy to even test them for that," Quinn said. "I can't see them allowing it."
"It was just an idle thought," Rachel said. "I'd love to have someone with Brittany's abilities as a Memory."
"Planning on retiring?" Quinn said.
"When you do," Rachel said. "And don't deny it. I know you plan to retire after we deal with the Bugs."
"Not right after," Quinn said. "But I am making sure there will be multiple Clan warriors who would be able to take my place if necessary."
"We're all doing that," Rachel said. "Ensuring that a plan for succession is in place. It makes good sense. But that's not what I meant."
"What would you do if you retired?" Quinn asked her.
"Assuming you came with me," Rachel said.
"Given," Quinn said with a nod.
"I want to travel, to see all of those places everyone else has been to. I want to travel the rings. To meet other Memories, other clan. To sing in the crystal caves in the land of Gnosh. To dance with the Dancers of Nimh. So many things," Rachel said.
"Sounds like a bucket list," Quinn said.
"More or less," Rachel said.
"I'm sure we can find the time," Quinn said. "We're going to have long lives, if we survive the Bugs."
"Living our lives sounds so awesome," Rachel said. "When are you coming home so we can get on with it?"
"Once things are settled here, I still have the Bug fleet recon to oversee," Quinn said.
"I know you had no choice with those mining ships, but are you really just going to supervise that?" Rachel asked.
"It depends," Quinn said. I can't make any promises to stay out of it."
"I understand," Rachel said, "but I can't say I like you taking such risks when you have all those teams that could go."
"I can't ask anyone to do something I won't do myself," Quinn said. "But you're right. I have very capable and trained teams who can do this. And they will be doing it once we actively disrupt the Bugs."
"Hey babe, how goes it," Santana said, over their private comm. "Have your science teams found a use for all of those element samples Quinn's teams bright back?"
"No," Brittany said. "There's nothing."
"How did they find out how to use that gallium with the scanners?" Santana asked.
"Their scanner tech was just fooling around," Brittany said. "She was curious."
"So maybe that's the answer?" Santana said. "Give it to a regular tech to play with. The science types are probably too aware of what won't work so they don't try the impossible because they know it isn't possible, so why bother?"
"When did you get to be so smart?" Brittany said. "I know just the techs to use."
"Glad to help out," Santana said.
"Did you call just to say hi or can I help you with something?" Brittany said.
"I can't just want to talk to my favorite person?" Santana asked.
"Certainly," Brittany said. "But you don't usually. We talk almost every night anyway."
"Okay, you caught me," Santana said. "I'm concerned about these Bug mining ships. What are we going to do with them?"
"I have a team headed to them that will dig into them and figure them all out," Brittany said.
"And the five escort ships? And the four Bugs?" Santana asked. "We need to know how that all worked. If they use that same command system for their other combat ships, I need to know."
"I've got another team headed out there," Brittany said. "They specialize in bio mechanical interfaces. If you have someone you want to participate in the investigation they are welcome to tag along."
"I can have them meet up," Santana said. "Do you need a station out there for this? It'd be more efficient than them living out of those small cruisers you use."
"Do you have a spare station that can be moved out there?" Brittany said. "It'll need a small protection force."
"How are we handling the diplomatic angle with the Blues?" Santana asked. "They must be getting a bit twisted with us having such a large presence in their sector."
"After the disaster with Chandar, we have permission from the Council of Clans, and the Galactics," Brittany said. "We can't claim any of their sector, but we can operate as their proxy when necessary, and investigating the Bug ships we've captured falls within our purview."
"The Blues don't know about the Bug ships we've captured, do they," Santana said.
"No need," Brittany said. "The main Bug fleet has crossed over into our sector so anything related is ours to deal with. And both the Council of Clans and Galactics have made that official."
"Do they know we've captured some Bug ships intact?" Santana asked.
"Possibly," Brittany said. "Artie might have passed that info along."
"Okay," Santana said. "Just as long as it doesn't come back to bite us."
"We might have to share any tech we discover or invent based on the captured Bug ships," Brittany said. "But we already knew that, so it isn't new."
"And what they don't know, they won't miss?" Santana said. "Sneaky."
"Clan unity only goes so far," Brittany said. "We still have to look out for our own Clan, and take opportunities where we find them."
"Not going to argue," Santana said. "And neither would Q and Rachel. Family first as they say. Clan is family. Other clans are cousins we tolerate, with a few exceptions."
"Good catch," Brittany said. "Our definition of Clan is not just genetic, no matter what the Council of Clans claims."
"And some day they'll agree with us," Santana said.
"Not holding my breath on that, San," Brittany said. "Too many other priorities than playing politics with some hide bound people led by old fogies."
"Are you involved with Q's Bug recon?" Santana said. "She's ramping up for it again, now that her side trip is almost over."
"I have a team embedded with her troopers," Brittany said. "But they report to her, not me."
"So you gave her a whole team?" Santana said. "What caused that? She's had a Shadow liaison for a while."
"A couple things," Brittany said. "The liaison has been asking for the ability to play a more active role with the troopers. I had a Shadow team that I thought Quinn could make good use of. The team leads on that Shadow team need more experience working with difficult situations. Quinn doesn't coddle her troopers but she cares about them. The Shadow team I gave her needs to see that Lady Hands and her teams are necessary and are not just some anime powered side show."
"Sounds like something the JJs would say," Santana said, laughing.
"And they'll learn there are times when discretion is a good thing even when they are just trying to be funny," Brittany said.
"So, the JJs have been assigned to work with the troopers? Isn't that a little mean?" Santana said.
"They'll survive," Brittany said.
"I mean Quinn," Santana said. "Her troopers are already tightly wound. Add in the JJs and it could get messy."
"No worries," Brittany said. "It'll be good for all of them."
"If you say so," Santana said.
"I do," Brittany said, winking at her.
"How goes the prep for the first battle?" Brittany asked after several minutes of comfortable silence.
"As soon as we see what happens with the recon, we'll put the finishing touches on the battle plan," Santana said. "Unless you can pull a game changer out of your model, there isn't a lot we can do other than directly attack them. They aren't going to fall for a trap, or ambush. They'd roll right over it."
"The Bugs are simple foes," Brittany said. "No elaborate planning required. Except when they do something unexpected."
"Like those zombie crews for the mining fleet escort," Santana said.
"Definitely unexpected, which means we should have expected that," Brittany said. "We knew they were stripping systems on their way through. We should have looked deeper to see how they were doing it, and what they were looking for."
"Well, we know now," Santana said. "And we're using the data collected on those ships to search for more."
"it's revealing some interesting things about the Bugs," Brittany said. "Though, not much about their culture. Mainly how their ships are controlled."
"The zombie Bugs are a bit creepy," Santana said. "Too bad they didn't survive."
"Live Bugs would certainly be useful," Brittany said. "Though there's not a lot we could do and still claim the moral high ground."
"Not a fan of torture," Santana said. "If we tortured them, they'd torture us, and round we'd go."
"Real torture doesn't work anyway," Brittany said. "Psychological manipulation, and mind altering drugs work much better, though it results in less trustworthy info."
"So, I can't try waterboarding the next time we catch some pirates?" Santana said.
"Maybe threaten them with walking the plank right above a sun," Brittany said. "That'll make almost anyone spill their guts. But real waterboarding? A definite no on that. Even Coach doesn't approve."
"It's mainly psychological," Santana said. "But putting someone in a closed room with the JJs might work just as well."
"Funny," Brittany said dryly.
"I like to think so," Santana said. "So, when are you coming out to visit the fleet?"
"Soon," Brittany said. "Need to set a few plans in motion first and then I can drop in."
"Excellent, or totally tera, as the cool kids like to say," Santana said.
"You haven't been infected by the Tera-bug also, have you?" Brittany said, frowning.
"No," Santana said. "But that show is becoming very popular with the crew on Flag. Even more than that Super Girl and Harley Quinn show."
"Huh," Brittany said. "Sounds like it's time to invest in some TV production companies."