Anderson asked Cooper, "Where are we headed?"

"Well, we need to get away from the boarding party behind us, but we also can't let these guys make it to the ring. So, I was aiming for the nearest lift station. That way, we can protect the ring from the primary hull, and it will allow us to fall back to the ring if we need to."

"That sounds like a good plan," Anderson said as she opened the door to the next section. Standing at the far end of the corridor was a man dressed head to toe in tight fitting black clothing. Before he could make it to taser range of Anderson, Cooper pulled her pistol and let off three rounds in quick succession. However, this barely even slowed the man in black.

"Shut and lock that door!" Cooper ordered as she franticly tried to open a third door located halfway down the corridor. 

"Got it!" Anderson reported.

"Good job," Cooper said just as her own door unlocked.

Cooper secured the door behind the two of them. Then she entered her command override code to seal it off.

"Who the hell are these guys?" Anderson asked as the two of them stopped for a few moments to catch their breath.

"I have no idea. All I know is I put three rounds into the last one and it barely slowed him down," Cooper responded as beads of sweat rolled down her face from the stress of having two close calls back to back..

"Well, if they are wearing bullet-proof vests, then that makes sense."

"No, it doesn't. After I put one in his chest and he didn't go down, I put two nine millimeter rounds into his arm and he didn't even flinch."

"Well, he could be wearing full body armor," Anderson said as her breathing slowly returned to normal.

"Under his tight clothing? I don't think so."

"Then how is that possible?"

"I don't know, but I aim to find out," Cooper responded. "Come on, let's see if we can get to the lifts another way."

---

It took them a while to get back to the elevators which could take them back to the ring. The two of them hadn't run into any more boarders but someone had locked down the entire primary hull. While this should have slowed down the enemy, it also made it slow going for the two officers.

"We finally made it," Cooper said as they arrived at the lifts. "Now we need to come up with a plan to protect them."

"Haven't you already locked them down from the bridge?" Anderson asked.

"Well yes, but I was able to use this one by using my security override code. Since they seem to have a higher access code, I do not know if they could override the lockdown like I did."

"You said that you wanted to fall back to the ring if we have to. Wouldn't it make sense to call the lift and unlock it so that we can make a quick getaway when the boarders show up? After all, we only have the one pistol to fight with." 

"That is very true. Give me a minute to override the lockdown," Cooper said as she used the keypad next to the elevator doors to enter her override code.

Mere moments after the lift doors opened Anderson said "Coop, look out!"

Two boarders, a male and a female, entered the room through a doorway at the far end of the room. Both of them were wearing tight black clothing, and both appeared to be unarmed.

"Get in the lift, now!" Cooper ordered Anderson as she drew her pistol. Cooper then fired repeatedly at the approaching boarders. After she emptied the clip, she dived into the lift car and activated it.

"That was close," Anderson said.

"You got that right."

"Where is the car going to let us out at?"

"I don't know, I just hit the first key I could get to," Cooper said while panting and putting another clip into her pistol. 

Meanwhile, Anderson was looking at the lift controls. "It looks like we are going to the lift station next to the mess hall," she announced.

"Well, I could use a drink and a snack about now," Cooper said with a grim smile. "Being in battle after battle has made me quite thirsty."

Anderson laughed quietly as the lift went on. The spin gravity gradually increased as it made its way to its destination. Finally, the force gently pulled their feet down to the lift's floor.

Eventually the lift let out a cheerful 'ding' as the doors opened into one of the many lift stations scattered around the ring.

Cooper carefully exited the elevator car before motioning for Anderson to join her. 

Much to Cooper's surprise the door to the galley and mess hall section of the ring was unlocked. 'This is odd,' she thought as she opened the door and went through it along with Anderson. 'I thought we locked down the entire ring.'

"Keep on your guard," Cooper whispered to Anderson. "Let's check the galley first."

Both she and Anderson went through the door to the galley. It also wasn't locked. 'Weird,' Cooper thought. 'Why are the rooms in this section unlocked?'

"It feels strange in here," Anderson said. "It's always so lively in here. I guess the cooks are all back in their rooms waiting for the all clear to sound."

She grabbed herself a soft drink and some graham crackers while Anderson grabbed something of her own. "Let's go check out the mess hall," Cooper said. "It should also be empty for a change."

It turned out that Cooper was very wrong.

---

When they entered the mess hall, Cooper realized the truth of the matter. 'We were being herded here all along.'

The invaders had filled the large room with crew from both shifts. After a quick scan of the room, she saw Simmons sitting with Watanabe and Kobayoshi at a table in the far corner of the room. All three of them were wearing sweatpants and t-shirts, as if they had all just crawled out of bed.

After grabbing Anderson's hand, she slowly made it through the crowded room. When she finally made it to the table Cooper tried to lighten the mood a bit.

"Hi guys, it looks like the gang is all here," Cooper said. "What's up?"

"Other than the fact that someone has boarded us and is gathering the entire crew in one place, not much," Simmons replied in kind. "Please have a seat and enjoy the party."

Cooper laughed, and then she and Anderson sat down at the table with the other senior-most officers.

"Report," Simmons said, his tone losing all joviality.  

"The bridge has been secured and locked down," Cooper replied. "Most of the officers on the bridge then made their way to engineering and the secondary bridge. Meanwhile, Anderson and I headed to the armory to access some heavier munitions. Nine millimeter pistols barely slow the attackers down."

"Why didn't you try to contact me as soon as the enemy began boarding Hope?"

"There simply wasn't any time to do so. You do know that they invaded the ship from three different skiffs simultaneously, don't you?"

"No, I didn't. Why did you allow three skiffs to dock at once? Thats not something that usually happens."

"They ordered me to do so under a rear admiral's authority. They had all the proper credentials to do so."

"Damn!" Simmons said as he balled up his fists in apparent frustration. "So, it was an inside job then."

"It would seem so," Cooper replied.

"What was the admiral's name?"

"Rear Admiral Duflot."

"I have never heard of that person."

"I haven't either. However, he apparently has override abilities. That explains how the invaders could open doors I locked behind me and how my code couldn't override some of the section doors."

"Shit!" Anderson said. Meanwhile Watanabe and Kobayoshi both looked deeply disturbed.

"I would have said the same thing if she hadn't," Simmons admitted. "Why are they doing this now? We only have a few weeks before the official launch."

"That's just one of the many things I would like to ask this Duflot character," Cooper said.

"Hopefully we will have the chance to ask him once all the crew are present," Anderson replied.

"Hopefully," Simmons said.

"Why are you two so quiet? You haven't said a word since Anderson and I came in," Cooper asked Watanabe and Kobayoshi.

"You two seem to know more about what's going on than we do," Kobayoshi said. "Besides you outrank us. It is common in the Nipponese navy for the lower ranked crew listen to such conversations and not interrupt."

Cooper laughed. "That may be true there, but this is an Alliance ship. We tend to do things a little differently than in your empire. I would love to hear your questions and input." 

"Honestly, I am just as confused as everyone else about what is going one right now," Watanabe admitted. "That's why I have nothing to say."

"Do either of you have any idea about what nations might be behind all of this chaos?" Kobayoshi asked.

"Unless they are from the EU, I don't know," Cooper said. "I noticed that all the intruders were Caucasian, but they could just be mercenaries for all we know." After a brief pause, she continued, "Simmons, do you have any ideas at this point?

"Not really. I'm taking a wait and see attitude. For all we know this could just be another test like the one on the Lexington."

They didn't have long to wait for the answer. After a large group of crew entered the room, there was an announcement over the ship wide com.

"Hello, this is Rear Admiral Christoph Duflot from the country of Alsace–Lorraine. There has been a change of plans concerning Hope's launch. Before we leave for the Alpha-Centauri star system, we will be going to the secret Alliance base in orbit of Vesta for a quick refit. I will be meeting individually with the command staff in sick bay for a quick briefing on the upcoming changes. Please bear with me for a little longer."

"Oh, and one last thing: feel free to open the galley and get everyone fed. We will be leaving for Vesta in a few hours, and I want everyone to be in their top condition," Christoph said.

"What the hell! Hope is brand new. It does not need a refit of any sort!' Cooper said. Inside she was seething with anger.

'"Calm down Coop. It sounds like you will have a chance to talk to him quite soon," Simmons said, most likely to get her to calm down.

Anderson took this opportunity top chime in. "What I want to know is why he's going to be meeting with us in sick bay."

"That's an excellent question," Cooper agreed. "If anything, the announcement has given us more questions than it answered."