Chapter 702

CHANCELLOR'S QUARTERS

QO'NOS

The door chimed and Chancellor Bogkor said, "COME!"

In walked Thalg, a High Council member and Black Fleet member. Thalg walked up to the large chair that the Chancellor was sitting in and stood before him.

The Chancellor's chair was sitting on a couple of steps to make the person sitting in it looking at anybody in the room at eye level. It almost was like a throne, but not formal. It was even comfortable, by Klingon standards. Bogkor looked at Thalg. "The High Council will be meeting shortly. I've already spoken with the other Black Fleet members and you're the last."

Thalg nodded understanding and stood silent. Bogkor continued, "Kor's message has caused many problems for us, for me especially."

"Kang will not like what is said in Kor's report. What do you expect from Kang?" Thalg shook his head. "I do not know. Kang has remained on station fighting the Cardassians, but that may change when Kor rendezvous. No telling what will happen after that."

Thalg said, "Kang will kill Kor, everyone knows the two hate each other."

Bogkor shook his head, "I do not know about that. I have a bad feeling about what is going to happen."

Thalg stated, "But Kang considers you a friend, maybe even a close friend."

"He will not if Kor persuades his report is true. I sent a message to Kang stating Kor's report is false." Bogkor said.

Thalg thought a little bit. "Kang will not take Kor's word over you. He will kill Kor before Kor can convince otherwise."

Bogkor nodded quietly. "I think not. Time is no longer on our side. We need to steer the council's discussion to war with the Federation, and quickly."

Thalg nodded, "That has been our goal for a long time."

"Yes, and now it is close to a reality. For over a century, Earth has been a thorn in our side. Vulcans have arrogantly dealt with us. Andorians are belligerent. And Tellarites…."

Thalg said with a small smile, "Are good eating."

Bogkor chuckled a little. "Yes, but are difficult. The core of the Federation was in our hands, and now if we do not act, the opportunity could be lost forever to get rid of these problematic races."

Thalg asked, "What is the general plan?"

Bogkor took a long drink of bloodwine and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "I anticipate the Council will start pressing me for confirmation on Kor's report. We need to deny that he was acting under my orders. Eventually, we need to turn it towards war with the Federation."

Thalg asked, "How?"

"I do not know. We will have to take the opportunity when it presents itself." Bogkor said.

"I will be ready, you can rely on me, Chancellor." Thalg said.

"One more thing, the Black Fleet must remain secret. The Council still needs to believe that it no longer exists. The other Black Fleet members have been briefed. Work with them in open council but do not reveal its existence." The Chancellor said.

Thalg asked, "How do we avoid suspicion?"

Bogkor stated, "You need to be subtle like a Romulan."

KANG'S QUARTERS

IKV KLOLODE

CARDASSIAN FRONT

Kor's ship had made all the proper signals on approach. Kor wanted to meet badly with Kang, and as soon as possible. Kang had read the message from Kor to the High Council. Not many things made Kang furious, but this was one of them. The thing Kang could not figure out was why Kor was coming here.

Kor was escorted into the office side of the quarters by two guards. Kang stood and said simply, "Kor."

"Kang." Kor replied. "I come with no combat intended."

"So noted." Kang said.

Kor said, "You read my report?"

Kang nodded. "So this operation was authorized by the Chancellor and six council members?"

Kor nodded, "Yes."

"And you knew that Jacobs is Jup-qorDu to my house?" Kang said.

"Yes, and so does the Chancellor and those six council members." Kor answered.

Kang stated, "The Chancellor says your entire report is a fabrication. You lie."

Kor shook his head, "I aim to prove otherwise."

Kang thought a bit then asked, "What is your purpose here? To beg for your life?"

Kor shook his head. "No. The God of Jacobs has saved me from my sins and forgiven me. There is much bad blood between us because of my actions. I want to make amends and offer my apologies. I will restore what I have taken from you, lands that I basically have stolen. I cannot repay lives lost but offer my own as payment."

Kang was bewildered. "Why do you do this, with me surely going to kill you for this?"

"Because the God of Jacobs tells me to do this, that I need to make things right with you. Here is the book of the God of Jacobs. Jacobs wrote a message to you in it." Kor said.

Kor handed over the Bible that Octavian gave him and read the message. Kang looked up at Kor. "And you serve this God?"

Kor nodded and said, "Yes."

Kang said, "Who is this God that you and Jacobs serve?"

Kor smiled, "Spare my life just one hour and I will tell you."

ONE HOUR LATER

Kang tearfully spoke, "So this is the Peace of the God of Jacobs?"

Kor nodded smiling. "Yes."

"I understand your need to make things right. The fault is not all yours. I too am proud, having chosen to be offended, believing being grieved made me stronger." Kang said. "Apologies are not Klingon in nature, but I apologize." Kang finished.

Kor nodded knowingly. "You will find a new source of strength. Instead of your own hate, or pride, you will draw from the God of Jacobs. I am working on a true Klingon translation of the Bible. The one that Octavian gave me is good, but the translation lacks the depth of the Klingon language."

Kang said, "I forgive you. I see now we need each other. I think that the God of Jacobs has plans for you and me."

"God has brought us together." Kor said. "The Chancellor is not your friend."

Kang shook his head, "I have known him a long time. We have fought side by side in many battles. He stood up for my proclaiming Jacobs as my Jup-qorDu. Why would he authorize the torture of Jacobs?"

Kor said sadly, "Because his goal for a long time has been war with the Federation."

Kang asked, "And you know this how?"

Kor took a deep breath and exhaled. "He is Black Fleet." Kang looked sternly at Kor. Kor continued, "I was the one who discovered the Organians, the one that was there when the Organian treaty was imposed. The war that would finish the Federation was going to be started by me, and I was going to be in the biggest battle in living memory." Kor stopped and looked down while he recomposed himself. "Forgive me. The excitement of battle is too ingrained in us. The frustration of the Organians blocking the battle was beyond me. Bogkor brought me a proposal to do Black Ops for him."

Kang started to get angry, then calmed down. "The God of Jacobs is strong. He helps me keep my temper. You were Black Fleet?"

Kor shook his head, "No, I do not know who the Black Fleet Captains are. But I do know the Chancellor and some of the members of the High Council who are Black Fleet. I worked directly for the Chancellor."

Kang shook his head, "I was blinded by friendship. The Chancellor the whole time was pushing for a war with the Federation the same time he was openly saying we had to honor the Treaty. Did he know what I would do if I found out you tortured Jacobs?"

"Fully. First, this was not a Black Fleet op. It was more of a special operation." Kor said.

"I do not understand Kor. I thought you were just saying Bogkor was Black Fleet." Kang stated.

"He is. He was one of the founders. But he also did ops more traditional with special ops, not Black Fleet. Black Fleet's task was to specifically probe the Organians to define limits and exploit them to provoke the war with the Federation we wanted." Kor said. "The op that I was on was more intelligence gathering, sort of. Because of that, the High Council was consulted."

"Impossible. My representative would have told me. I have friends on the Council." Kang said.

"Yes, which is why this wasn't done in open council." Kor said.

Kang's brow furKnabed. He had a powerful scowl. "And you let this happen? Dahar Masters are supposed to prevent this."

Kor nodded. "Yes, I know. I initially wondered why only a portion of the council was there. Bogkor had enough of the council to make a majority and that is it. No more. So, it was authorized by the High Council…."

Kang stated, "But not debated. No dissention. Dishonorable. You were supposed to prevent that."

Kor lowered his head in shame. "I know. My lust for the war overrode my responsibility as a Dahar Master."

"This is what Kah'less formed us for." Kang said. "Even for our death."

Kor nodded. "Which brings me here. The time with Jacobs was incredible. God is with him. God used him to bring the Gospel of Christ to me. Now I am on The God of Jacobs' mission."

Kang stood and grabbed a Mek'leth. He turned and walked to the screen on the wall in his room. Kor thought for an instant that Kang was going to kill him after all. After a minute, Kang turned and faced Kor. "What's on your heart next?"

"To support you with anything you need. I need to also apologize to the Dahar Order." Kor said.

Kang pointed the Mek'leth at Kor. "That will be for later, and I will stand with you provided you stand with me next."

Kor could see Kang actively thinking about something. "What is your plan?"

"My next goal is to confront Chancellor Bogkor. With more than half the Council willing to attack my Jup-qorDu, I need someone to watch my back, and that is you." Kang pointed the Mek'leth again at Kor. Kor smiled eagerly looking for a fight. Kang continued, "And I need your strategic planning abilities to make this happen."

Kor stood and pulled out his knife. He cut a slit in the palm of his right hand. Kang sheathed his Mek'leth and drew his knife and cut a slit in his right palm. The two grasped each other's hands. Kor said, "It is my honor to help you, Brother."

Kang looked into Kor's eyes and said, "Pray for us, Brother."

KLINGON HIGH COUNCIL CHAMBER

QO'NOS

Chancellor Bogkor walked in the entrance and all the members turned and saluted him. The council chamber had only one seat- the throne at the head of the room elevated on steps. The chamber had no table either. Klingon debates were kept short because everyone except the Chancellor had to stand. It was the preferred position to be in when either challenging or answering a challenge if the debate got too hot, which was frequent. The Council members formed a circle around the room with the throne at the head. Staff or guests were behind the Council members. The room had markings on the floor which basically said where each council member would stand, and if ritual combat happened, where the general limits of the combat should happen. The lines were more a reference point than a 'out of bounds and combat frequently went across the lines. Bogkor strode through the room, up the steps, and sat down on the throne.

In addition to the Council Members and Chancellor, there was one more person required in the room. That was the 'moderator', as Klingons would call it. The Moderator kept the process moving along, frequently actually 'stirring the pot' or provoking the debate. He also was a referee if combat happened. At the end of a session, there was usually nothing else left to say or do if the session was properly 'moderated'. The moderator said, "Council Member Torf has called for a session with the pre-requisite members seconding. Torf, state your purpose!"

Torf stepped forward to the center of the circle and motioned to a woman behind him. "I called this meeting at the request of Mara, wife of Kang." The council members turned to acknowledge Mara. A very pregnant Mara eyed the members of the council. "The message by Kor concerning his mission to extract information from Captain Joshua Jeremiah Jacobs of Starfleet greatly distresses the house of Kang." Torf said. "As their representative, I demand an explanation from Chancellor Bogkor." Torf turned to the Chancellor. "Why did you authorize Kor's mission?"

Bogkor said, "I did not authorize this. Kor was acting on his own."

Torf retorted, "Kor said you did authorize the mission."

Bogkor shrugged, "Kor is lying."

Councilmember Droth snapped back, "He lied about that but told the truth on everything else? There was a lot for Kor to tell."

Bogkor said, "What evidence do you have that I ordered it?" Bogkor looked at the members who knew of the meeting with Kor. "Is there anyone who witnessed this order?" Nobody said a word.

Droth said, "Chancellor, you speak like a human."

Bogkor jumped out of his throne and took a couple of steps down. He grabbed his knife but did not draw it. A frozen moment in time was happening.

The Moderator/Referee said, "Do you wish to challenge Droth, Chancellor?"

Bogkor was staring at Droth. "Does he withdraw his insult?"

All eyes looked at Droth. Droth sternly looked at the Chancellor, "I have no 'evidence' of the Chancellor's involvement."

The Moderator/Referee asked, "I believe the Chancellor was referring to you calling him 'human'."

A silence followed. Droth said finally, "The evidence is overwhelming that the Chancellor is Klingon. I withdraw my human statement."

With that, the Chancellor climbed back slowly to his throne and sat down. Torf said, "We will have Kor's statement in days, perhaps two weeks. I have just received a communiqué that Kor and Kang are enroute here. They have cited the right of Dahar Masters Honor."

The Chancellor said, "What?"

Torf stated, "Kang and Kor have declared a threat to Klingon Honor. They are presently on the way back here. I believe they are getting a couple of Dahar Masters to come with them as well too."

The Chancellor almost looked pale. "Why?"

Torf said, "The Dahar code requires if a challenge is made that an honorable witness be available. Traditionally, a Dahar Master is present for the witness."

Chancellor Bogkor looked at Torf, "You made the challenge! It is you that should fight!"

Torf smiled, "Not so, I merely relayed the wishes of the house of Kang. I would not dream of getting in Kang's way, especially on this issue. Know this Chancellor, Kang is coming here to challenge you."

Chancellor Bogkor looked around. He had to regain control. "The Challenge is useless. I will have proof that Kor was acting on his own. The matter at hand is because of Kor's actions, the Federation will most certainly consider it an act of war. War is going to come to us. We need to attack first."

Council member Klob, who was Black Fleet, said, "I agree. Kor kidnapped a Starfleet Captain. That will enrage the Federation. They will attack."

Torf said, "Wait! There is no hurry, we must not act rashly."

Council member Thalg snapped, "Would you wait while we are attacked? The best way to deal with the Federation is to attack, and attack now!"

Klob asked, "But our timeline was for months for now. What do we do with our plans? Our plans were to attack Starbase 5."

Council member Kron said, "We must attack with what we have now!" Voices in the hall started to echo their approval. "What does the military advisor think?"

All eyes turned to General Chang. Chang walked to the center and said, "Members of the High Council! I have researched this and I believe Kor has given away our advantage surprise. With the fleet available in short order, I plan on attacking Starbase 5. I can choose the specific axis of attack later, but making Starbase 5 the immediate objective still works."

Torf said, "What use is Starbase 5 to us? Why attack just to destroy a Starbase? This will only enrage the Federation."

Droth sneered, "What are you afraid of Torf?"

Torf shook his head, "There has been much debated in the past on this, and I still believe engaging the Federation in war at the same time as our war with the Cardassians is not wise. We need all our resources against the Cardassians. As it is, we may lose that fight."

Chancellor Bogkor said, "You speak fear Torf!"

Torf snapped back, "I speak the wisdom of reality! We are scarce in our resources; we do not have enough slaves to help maintain our fleet much less build more! We all know this from reports that we have discussed here."

General Chang said, "My objective isn't to destroy Starbase 5 but to capture it."

The hall was silent. Chang continued, "We need the infrastructure, the people as slaves."

Torf said, "It will be impossible."

General Chang said, "No it isn't. The Kah'less can use the weapon in shore bombardment. It will be devastating. A couple of well-placed shots will knock out the defenses of the planet and then we simply invade. The Kah'less then can continue its attack on any Starfleet ships as a mop up. We will have enough support ships in place in as little as a week. This will be before they get their defenses hardened up."

Torf pointed out, "They are hardening up now."

Chang shook his head, "It will take too long. The support fleet that can be mustered will have significant power of its own. Remember that the Kah'less is a standoff weapon, capable of engaging targets from significantly outside of Federation weapon range. They will have to go and engage it to stop any bombardment."

Droth said, "But it is also not maneuverable. It cannot track targets up close."

Chang said, "Properly employed, it will not need to. It can engage and destroy hardened orbital defenses, starships at a distance, and we theorize shore bombardment. Any up-close targets will be dealt with by the support fleet of cruisers, destroyers, and birds-of-prey."

Klob asked, "What of the shore bombardment? Has that been tested yet?"

Chang had to be careful, remembering the first usage of the Kah'less was to draw the Federation battleship Excalibur away from Mahgreb to make an easy kill of Kang. That failed of course. "Not yet. We believe the weapon will be sufficient in bringing down defenses even inside an atmosphere. There is some debate as to how its effect will be on ground targets. There has not been time to schedule a test because we have been using the Kah'less to draw the Federation fleet around and get a better idea of where their listening post is."

Torf snipped, "Which was Kor's mission."

Chang said, "I have no knowledge of his mission beyond what he reported to us."

Thalg asked, "So attacking Starbase 5 is still our best move?"

Chang nodded. "Yes. Kor's accidental revealing of our initial plans may work for us after all."

Thalg, bewildered, asked, "How? You have barely changed the plan."

Chang smiled and looked around. "You are not even factoring in Federation political paranoia. Federation politicians will always try to protect themselves when they feel a threat. If a threat does not affect them personally, they do not even worry about it."

The chamber muttered in the background, "How barbaric." "Dishonorable" "Selfish"

Chang nodded his head, "I have studied them for many years. If the politicians think that we are going to attack, they will protect themselves. They will order Starfleet into positions to defend the Federation's core worlds. Starbase 5 will be relatively weak."

Thalg said, "Leaving it open for invasion. How could they make such an obvious mistake?"

Chang smiled, "Because they don't listen to their Military." Chang raised his voice and his hands in a great show of boldness. "I recommend we strike and we strike on my timeframe!"

"ATTACK!" the hall started to chant.

Torf looked back at Mara. Mara had a displeased look and shook her head.

OPERATIONS CENTER

SHADO BASE

Commodore Straker was looking at some of the fleet deployments and known positions of Klingon vessels. Nothing unusual had happened yet. Paul Forrester walked up with a datapad in his hand. "Latest signals intercept from the High Council."

Straker started reading and asked, "Where is Kang now?"

Forrester tapped a few buttons and the holographic display showed a blip deep inside Klingon territory traveling at high warp. "Here is Kang, but he's not heading straight for Qo'nos."

Straker nodded as he kept reading. "Yes. He's getting support from the other Dahar Masters. In times like this Klingons are almost feudal, not military. He will get however many he thinks he needs for adequate support then he will go to confront Chancellor Bogkor." Straker tapped a couple of parts of the report. "Who he goes to will be interesting. Let's keep that in mind. On the other subject, have we any confirmation yet of the Klingons attack?"

Forrester shook his head, "Not yet. There has been a lot of signal traffic from Qo'nos, but this info is so new that if the ships ordered for repositioning started immediately, we haven't been able to pick them up yet. It will be probably another hour or so before we see the first."

Straker nodded. "Where are the ships that have been retasked?"

Forrester touched a few buttons and blips showed up in the Klingon territory mostly between the Klingons and the Federation. Straker shook his head. "That's too many."

Forrester nodded. "I agree. The big question is what is the axis of attack? The part of the message that has the coordinates has been encrypted with a new key and we have not hacked it yet."

Straker nodded. "It would have been. Ok, let's sit on this until we confirm which ships are responding and we develop a track on their paths. From there we can get a good estimate on their rendezvous point. Once we have that we'll send a message torpedo to Starbase 5."

"Aye aye, sir."

BRIDGE

USS WISCONSIN

"USS Wisconsin Captain's log, Stardate 7964.5. Captain Joshua Jacobs recording. We are currently enroute back to Starbase 5 with our load of antimatter from Hawking Station. Our anticipated ETA is twelve hours from now. So far all is going well, we have had two first stage instabilities and one second stage instability in different containers on the USS Golden Eagle. The Golden Eagle was able to handle the instabilities well, and we are collecting data on what is causing these instabilities. The hope is to learn more to prevent these instabilities from occurring in the future. Jacobs out."

Jacobs stood up from the Captain's chair and stretched. It had been a continual twelve-hour shift. The turbolift doors opened and Leonaidas stepped through. Jacobs turned and said, "Just in time, Leo. Nice to see you."

Leonaidas stepped down to the seat. "Go take a nap. I'll call you in ten hours for the arrival at Starbase 5."

Jacobs smiled wanly. "Thank you, Leo. You have the conn."

Leonaidas said, "I have the conn. Good night, sir."

Jacobs stepped up to the turbolift landing and stepped through the door leading to his ready room. Just inside he went into the restroom and splashed some hot water on his face. He dried off and loped over to the couch that now was serving as his bed. Jacobs grabbed the blanket at one end of the couch and pulled it over him as he laid down. He was so tired from the previous two days. With the instabilities in the antimatter, he felt that he needed to be on the bridge, in case an instability went to stage three. It was Leonaidas that convinced him to take a break to keep him fresh. Jacobs agreed. Fatigued, he was probably more of a threat than a hundred thousand tons of antimatter on a ship a mile abeam of the Wisconsin.

It seemed like no sooner than when he let his head hit the pillow than he heard, "RED ALERT! CAPTAIN TO THE BRIDGE!"

Jacobs jolted out of bed and stumbled to the door. Just before going through the door, he stopped and straightened himself up and stepped through the door.

The door to the Captain's Ready Room was on the uppermost level next to the turbolift door, which formed the landing. It was a mostly nice overview of the bridge, except you could not see the displays immediately to the left and right of the landing. Those stations were engineering and communications. Jacobs said, "Status."

Leonaidas said, "An instability has formed in one of the antimatter pods, it's reached the second stage now."

"How long have I been out?" Jacobs asked.

Lt Cdr Jareau answered, "About an hour and a half."

Jacobs shook his head to clear a few more cobwebs. "Felt like ten seconds." He stepped down a stair and over to the operations station where Leonaidas normally worked. For this mission, it was reconfigured for engineering on the Golden Eagle, specifically the antimatter containment vessels on the ship. Commander Dominic Santini was working the controls. "How bad is it Dom?"

Santini shook his head, "The instability went from first stage to second stage faster than anything I've seen yet. We may just lose this one."

Jacobs turned to Leonaidas, "You still have the conn, prepare for possible container ejection."

Leonaidas said, "Aye aye, sir. JJ, get me the Golden Eagle." Jacobs could hear Leonaidas talking to the Golden Eagle bridge in the background.

Santini shook his head. "I'm trying everything I can. It just won't settle down. The Golden Eagle's engineer and I had a talk a little while ago and have done some more tweaking, maybe that's some of the problem. It's almost stage three now."

Jacobs nodded. He looked at the big screen and saw the Golden Eagle flying formation with them. The screen also showed the distance and bearing to the ship. Leonaidas did a good job of moving the Wisconsin so they would be clear of the pod if it had to be ejected. The comm. Suddenly said, "Wisconsin, Golden Eagle actual. Be advised we will eject the pod the moment it goes to stage three."

Leonaidas looked at Jacobs who nodded. Leonaidas said, "Wisconsin acknowledges, we are clear for pod ejection."

Santini was working the controls on the pod stabilization system. The overall look was grim. "I'm losing it, Captain."

Jacobs said, "Any reason to keep it another minute?"

"More data will help in the future, but we are going to lose it sir." Santini said.

Jacobs curtly said, "Leo, tell them to eject it."

Leonaidas instinctively leaned toward the speaker on the armrest. "Golden Eagle, Eject the pod! Repeat, Eject Eject Eject!"

"Ejecting." The voice came over the speaker.

The antimatter pod in question was about midway down the structure and about as large as three shuttles. It separated and small rockets pushed it away from the Golden Eagle. The problem is that the simple ejection system simply got the pod away from the ship sideways, and it needed to get far enough away to escape the warp bubble. Leonaidas said, "Tractor Beam! Engage and push!"

Lt Agathon was at the navigation station and engaged the tractor beam and started pushing the container at the agreed maximum acceleration toward the aft part of the Golden Eagle. Jacobs gripped the rail beside him and said, "JJ, sound collision!"

Lt Cdr Jareau pushed the collision button and the collision alarm started sounding throughout the ship, she followed up with, "RIG FOR COLLISION! THIS IS THE BRIDGE, RIG FOR COLLISION!"

Santini was still getting data from inside the pod, "It's through stage three, almost stage four now! It's going to go any second!"

Jacobs watched the pod being pushed by the tractor beam go aft of the Golden Eagle. All they need is to clear the warp bubble and they would have a fighting chance. "Helo, push it harder!"

Agathon said, "Aye aye, sir." And he increased the acceleration of the pod.

Jacobs watched the pod clear the back portion of the Golden Eagle. Any foot now it will cross the border. The pod just crossed the border of the warp bubble and blurred aft into the distance when there was a tremendous explosion. Both ships were rocked violently by the explosion.

Jacobs noted he had hit his head on the railing. Figures. He was the only one on the Bridge not in a restraining chair. Jacobs said, "Damage report!"

Santini said, "Golden Eagle undamaged, but instabilities forming in two containers."

Jacobs looked over to Lt Knabe, who was at the Engineering panel. "Just some shaking sir, probably spilled liquids for cleanup is all. No damage."

Jacobs nodded and looked back at Santini. "Two containers? Which ones?"

"They are at the same node as the one we ejected. I think the explosion may have destabilized everything in all of them." Santini said.

"Are we going to lose the whole shipment?" Jacobs asked.

Santini worked the controls. Then he calmly sat back and looked at the diagram of the Golden Eagle. "No time to explain, I recommend we eject the other containers on the same node. These two right here."

Jacobs looked where Santini was pointing. It meant they were going to lose a tenth of the whole shipment, but Jacobs could also see instabilities forming in many other containers. "Do it!"

Santini pushed the com button. "Golden Eagle, this is Cmdr. Santini. You are forming more instabilities; we recommend you eject everything on Node 6."

"Everything on Node 6?"

Santini said, "Yes, Eject containers 6A and 6C on our mark."

Jacobs pointed at Leonaidas. Leonaidas said, "Alan, bring us around so we can push the containers."

Carter gently changed formation with the Golden Eagle to give the tractor emitters clear view of the two problem containers. Once in position, Leonaidas looked at Agathon, who nodded he was ready with the tractor beam. Leonaidas looked at Jacobs and said, "Ready."

The speaker had the Golden Eagle's Captain on it. "Wisconsin, Golden Eagle Actual. Are you sure about this?"

Jacobs leaned over to Santini's speaker/mic. "Golden Eagle, Wisconsin Actual. Yes, we are. Eject Pods 6A and 6C. Eject, Eject, Eject!"

"Ejecting pods."

The viewscreen showed two more pods disconnecting and moving clear. Agathon pushed them back behind the Golden Eagle with the tractor beam as before until they cleared the warp field. Then they disappeared in a blur in the distance. Jacobs looked at Hotchner. "Any detonations yet?"

Hotchner shook his head. "None."

Santini said, "Telemetry shows they have stabilized. All pods on the Golden Eagle have Stabilized as well too."

Jacobs nodded. "Ok, so we are out of danger now?"

Santini nodded. "Yes sir. If you like…"

"I'll get the explanation when I wake up. And Dom…" Jacobs said tiredly.

Dom smiled for the first time, a big, toothy smile. "I'll make it simple with one syllable words."

Jacobs stepped up to the landing and said, "Thank you."

STARBASE 5 COMMANDERS OFFICE

STARBASE 5

Captain Jacobs and Commander Santini walked into the office. Admiral Adama was seated behind his desk talking with Captain Jackson. Both stood up when the Wisconsin officers stepped in. "Gentlemen, welcome back." Adama said raspily.

The four men shook hands, "Glad to get back Admiral."

Adama nodded, "Yes, what happened?"

Jacobs motioned to Santini. Santini said, "Well, we had to eject three pods, lost a tenth of the shipment. But we learned a great deal."

Adama asked, "Enough to prevent this in the future?"

Santini nodded, "I think so Admiral."

Adama asked, "What is the fix, Commander? More computer stabilizers?"

Santini shook his head, "No sir, it's actually simple, I think. The spot where we were getting instabilities is a standing wave. Some interaction between the warp field, speed, and amount of antimatter created a harmonic standing wave inside those containers. The simple fix is for the Golden Eagle or others not to have containers about four hundred feet aft of the first antimatter container."

Adama waited for more. "That's it?"

Santini nodded and smiled. "That is it. Once we ejected the others, we did not have a single problem. In fact, the computer stabilizers had a much easier time stabilizing the whole load."

Adama smiled, "Well that's good news. We have almost finished building a refueling facility out on the rim of the system, about seven light-hours from here. That will free the Golden Eagle from refueling ships directly."

Jacobs said, "I saw a few normal tankers waiting to get fuelled up from the Golden Eagle when I left it out on the rim."

Adama said, "That one load will help significantly with antimatter reserves in this portion of the Federation. Commander Santini, thank you for your work, you are dismissed."

Santini smiled and nodded. "Thank you, sir." He turned and left.

Adama looked at his two best Captains. "Gentlemen, as you both know, war is coming. We don't know when, but it is. I'm waiting on final orders coming in from Starfleet Command. For now, Josh, your ship is going to get a minor refit."

"Sir?"

"Yes, we are taking out that magnificent mechanical clock-computer on your deck 2 and replacing it with a holographic command center. The Excalibur is currently being refitted to be my primary command center with the Wisconsin as a secondary command center." Adama said.

"How long?" Jacobs asked.

"One week. Then we ship out to our muster point. More orders will follow, for now I want your crews drilled and to get sharp." Adama said. "I leave the scheduling up to you. Plan on shoving off seven days from now. I'd like to be apprised of your training schedule."

Jacobs and Jackson nodded agreement. "Aye aye, sir."

Adama said, "Very well. I'd also like to invite you for dinner tonight. We can have more discussion there."

Jackson asked, "Dinner? Where?"

Adama said, "Here, but we'll have it catered. I have an understanding with a local restaurant."

"Which one?" Jackson asked.

"The Orion Steakhouse." Adama said. "You'll like them. See you at 1700."

Jacobs and Jackson walked out and started walking to the transporter room. "Josh, I'd like to borrow the Badgers."

"Sure, what for?"

"Maxwell has done the training program that Lt Cdr Bauer has laid out. The last thing is something called 'the big swim'?" Jackson asked.

Jacobs laughed, "Yes. I think that will be good. You will want to see that."

"Maxwell said something about Raptors?"

Jacobs nodded, "Oh yes, if you want, you can ride along."

Jackson eyed Jacobs, "Let me think about that. You are teaching me to be crazy, but I'm not sure I'm that crazy."

Jacobs smiled. "Always learning."