We each sat in the war room, quiet as can be. Clara had put the child in her room until we have a plan on what to do with her. Dern stares into the ground silently, and Rom isn't even in the room. Oniv faces the wall ahead of us. My only guess he is planning the next move, if there is one. Dern, clearly annoyed by the silence, stand from his chair and walks over to him.
"What are we doing?" He asks
"Excuse me?"
"What are we doing? Are we just sitting here? You aren't doing anything, so why are we here?"
"I don't like your tone, Dern."
"Well, I don't like your leadership."
"Excuse me."
Both were getting very irritated. Oniv takes a set forward, his anger has overtaken him, but Dern doesn't back down, he stands his ground looking him in the eye.
"I don't like your leadership, sir." Dern says again
"You little f-" Oniv charges at him, grabbing him by the neck. Dern disarms him but Oniv's strength sends them both into the wall. Clara and I scramble to stop the fight. She pulls Oniv away and I deploy my hammer between them and yell, "Enough!"
Oniv closes his eyes for a moment and takes a deep breath. Dern sees him do that and does the same. Once both have calmed down, Clara releases him.
"Dern, I'm sor-"
"-Don't." He says interrupting him. "I won't hold you to it. You and I both know where that anger is coming from, and it is not for me."
Oniv nods his head.
"It only comes from one source," He continues, "With that being said, who is the liar? And when are we killing them?"
"Kill? Who said anything about that?" Clara asks.
"You know the rules, Clara."
"Not unless we have to. We haven't proven yet someone has been lying to us."
"She's right," Oniv says. "We do need to prove it."
Oniv looks up into the ceiling then yells, "Fariah Angel, I know you are there. I won't be mad. Come out, I need you."
She phases into existence, hiding behind me. Her ears were drooping down, sadden by the fight she just overheard.
"Angel, there you are. I need-"
"-I don't like it when you argue."
"What?" Oniv says a little shocked.
"I don't like it when you fight. Promise me you will stop fighting."
"Angel..."
"I don't want to watch my family fall apart! Promise me!"
Tears start flowing from her eyes, I try to pat her on the head but to no avail. Oniv nods his head realizing the situation he is in. He bends down to her and puts his hand on her shoulder.
"Ok." He says gently, "I promise."
She smiles a little.
"Can you help us now?" He asks
"What do you need?"
She phases away from me and back into her mini form on the table. Her teal dress elegantly drops to the ground, and her ears are back in the upright position. She is so gorgeous; I couldn't help but stare. She sees me looking at her and giggles for a moment before returning her focus to Oniv. Everyone gathers around as the two of them talk.
"I uploaded some files to your database yesterday, do you see them?"
"Stand by. Yes, I see them."
"One of those files should include the rendezvous location, do you see it."
Her eyes scatter from side to side, before finally stopping and retuning to Oniv.
"I see it, sir."
"Good, send that information to Rom. Thats where we are going next."
"What are you doing?" Clara asks.
"I want to prove me wrong, keep the weapons ready, we are going to jump shortly."
"Yes, sir."
"Angel, are you ready?"
"Heading out now!" She says, then phases out.
We all leave the war room and head for the bridge at the end of the hall. As the doors open, Rom is already ready for us.
"I heard what happened," He says, "Are we good?"
"We're fine. Are jump procedures ready?"
"When you are, sir?"
"Start the count down."
Everyone returns to their seats as Rom walks onto the platform again. He pulls out the intercom and calls out to the ship.
"Attention crew, prepare for jump five rings."
"Preparing jump sequence." Angel says.
The rings multiply on the ship and glow as bright as they can. Angel starts the count down.
"Engaging jump in five...four...three...two...one."
The engines spur up and fire, sending us to our destination. Hours later, we finally arrive. The ship pulls out of jump space and stops at a lone planet orbiting a white dwarf star. Everyone exits from their seat but are called over to Oniv.
"Alright people, listen up. The contact has already been called and is on their way here. Rom, keep the jump engine and weapons on standby."
"Sir?"
"I don't want to get caught in the open."
"Understood."
"Sir," A voice calls from the pilot's seat, "We are detecting a jump signature."
"From where?" Rom asks.
"Straight ahead."
Suddenly space starts to warp and bend in front of us. Light travels in direction not known to man till suddenly, it glows brightly and ignites. A massive ship opens up on the other side. At least twice the size of ours and houses hundreds more guns than us. It turns left to show us its full length, it is a turn battleship. It has enough firepower to whip us out in one barrage. Its bridge was small in comparison to the rest of the ship, but it also had runways on its top for fighters. The name also appears in the front. The MLK Halo Spark. A ping sounds off in the bridge. Angel nervously turns to Rom and whispers, "It's them." They answer the call.
An older man answers shows on the other end. His skin is dark and wrinkling and he had a long scar going down his left eye. His eyes were a dark brown, cold, and focused. Though he immediately lightens up upon seeing Rom.
"The famous Rom. It an honor to meet you."
"General Harthun, it's been a while."
"How is my favorite prodigy?"
"Doing well, sir. Working it out as always."
"I heard you had gotten with a crew, didn't expect it to be this one."
"You have your reservations?"
"Of course not, though I would love to show you about the imperial, I think you would make a great addition."
"I'll think about it."
"Too bad. Next time then. I actually need to speak with your boss. Is he here?"
"I am right here." Oniv says approaching the platform. Harthun smiles.
"Very good. Do you have her?"
"Yes sir, she is waiting in the medic bay."
"Thats great to hear."
"I did mean to ask you something. Why was there a child in the middle of a hostile environment anyway?"
"Sorry? Why do you ask?"
"Someone claiming to be the child's father was there. We nuked him from orbit."
Harthun laughs out loud for a few seconds.
"Did you now? Our client would love to hear this."
"Who is the client by the way."
Harthun turns hostile. It was only for a brief moment, but enough to make everyone jump from their seats.
"That...is none of your business! Now I thought you were a man of action, not of questions. Have the child ready in your hangar bay, and you will have your payment."
"Understood."
The screen closes out and Oniv turns to the rest of the crew. Angle phases in in front of him.
"What do we do?" She asks.
He thinks for a moment, then bolts for the door. Calling out orders at the same time.
"Rom, keep those engines and weapons running, we are going to need them. Dern, Clara, Ax, you are with me. Let's go give them a warm welcome!"