Smith slipped away with his ships into the Beta system, but the Cacks scouts must have been on their toes for not long after this, the Cacks began pulling ships from the near gate to cover the far gate where we were going to try and sneak around them. I reminded myself that we had planned for this as I ordered my ships to Beta system at full speed, but I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that they had caught on so soon. This could easily end up being a slugfest with two blocked gates instead of one, at which point we would be no better off than we had been before.

I sent a manned scout into Delta system to find out how things were going and he returned reporting that Smith was experiencing moderate resistance, but that it looked like the Cacks were moving all their ships to the back gate. At least something is going right, I thought, as I ordered my ships back into the Alpha system.

The Phoenix leading, my fleet had just transited into the Alpha system when I discovered the unseen flaw in my plan. When we had left, The Swords, apparently feeling they had gathered sufficient numbers of ships, had transited behind us and were racing across the system towards us.

I couldn't see how we could take the gate to Gamma while defending ourselves from The Swords's attack behind us. While my mind whirled, trying to calculate odds and likely outcomes, I just went with my gut and ordered my battle cruisers, to go back and support Smith. Taking only my fastest ships, we raced for the gate hoping that at least a feint would pull some of the pressure off of Smith as he tried to transit the back gate.

We made it to the transit station just ahead of The Swords. They pulled up short and got in attack formation, outnumbering us nearly ten to one. Behind us, the Cacks defending the gate saw us appear to take the near gate while Smith broke through the far gate to Delta, turned and ran away. I would have loved to have chased after them, but The Swords would have fallen on us and cut us to pieces as we tried to make the transit.

Seeing we were in trouble, Smith sent his FACs to assist us. When they were within range, I sent a message by com laser, telling them to wait out of site behind the transit station until I ordered the attack, then to come through like a sudden wave of reinforcements.

The Swords, despite their advantage, took some time to work up the courage to attack us. But the moment they began their advance, we launched our attack. Our ships leaped forward while Smith's FACs poured through the gate behind us. We didn't even get within weapon's range before The Swords turned and ran. We stopped and let them get a good distance away before turning back and plunging through the transit station.

* * *

For six days we traveled in wide-open space through Cack systems left sparsely populated from The Swords' ravaging attacks. It was almost like a pleasure cruise after the hellish week of constant fighting. On the seventh day a small group of Cack ships appeared and requested that we talk. We agreed.

A Cack with Ovebearing's ideographs appeared on the display. "Being the under-director of the district of The Sons of the Archer, I am called Servant of Angels.

"We are the united Solarian fleets," Smith said. "Why are you here?"

"I desiring harmonious agreement."

"And what would be the terms of this agreement?" Smith asked.

"You harm not us. We harm not you."

"We are still going to need to re-supply."

"Be taking only the most needful. Harm not our people or that which is unnecessary."

"Let me speak to my commanders." Smith killed the connection. "What do you think?" he asked his fleet commanders.

"I've been enjoying the peace and quiet," Abrams said. "I'd rather not start any fighting if we can avoid it."

"Agreed."

"But can we trust him?" Maxwell asked.

"Of course not," Smith said. "But that doesn't mean we should declare war on him right now. Dr. Hindmost?"

The oracle's eyes swayed back and forth on their stalks in a rhythmic pattern taking in the 3d projection of our meeting. "Necessity makes us forward striving. Standing hindrances must be disallowed."

The commanders paused silently trying to re-interpret what he'd said. Smith turned to me. "Ken, what do you think?"

I had been sitting quietly during the meeting, staring at Smith's image, trying to detect any trace of his supposed Pelosism. I thought I had seen some strange subtle emotional changes over the months, but that wasn't often a symptom of Pelosim and was more likely a sign of stress. I also decided Newman was full of crap and wondered if he'd managed to finagle an invite to spectate the meeting. "I've been having the AI do some digging through the Phoenix's records. Servant of Angels appears to be a very close personal friend of The Ruler. I say proceed with extreme caution."

"Well then we'll proceed, but tell your ship commanders to stay on the alert and increase the scouting drones."

We agreed to the truce.

We traveled on for three more days, keeping a sharp watch for Servant of Angels but he stayed carefully out of site, relying on his scout craft to watch us while apparently following along other routes. When our supplies began running low, we stopped in a group of systems to resupply. No one system was populated enough to provision the entire fleet, so we spread out over several neighboring systems. We even took an extra day off for rest and repairs. When our drones detected a gathering of Cack ships nearby, we sent manned scouts and a squad of FACs out to investigate. They returned with a captured Cack scout.

* * *

"It seems you were correct in distrusting Servant of Angels," Smith told me in our daily commanders' conference. "The scout has informed us that Servant of Angels is gathering his forces, supplementing them with mercenaries, and intends to block us at this point." A map of the neighboring systems appeared in v-space. They lay spread out like a net which abruptly narrowed down to a single point. Beyond that a thin trail of scattered systems led from The Archers to Solarian space.

"We should leave at once," Maxwell said.

Dexter shook his head. "We've got a number of ships who have taken their engines off-line. It's going to be several hours before everyone is ready to boost."

"I doubt their commanders are sharing their strategy with their scouts," I said. "I suggest we send some of our own out with the FACs and light cruisers to the bottleneck to see if the Cacks are in fact planning on turning on us."

"I think we should include at least a wing of battle cruisers as well," Smith added. "If they do in fact run into a large force, they could be overwhelmed before they get back."

I shrugged. "Very well, but I believe speed is most important here. Let the battle cruisers go, but the faster ships shouldn't wait for them."

Before the shift had ended, a task force had been detailed and sent off. Smith decided to lead the wing of battler cruisers while Chris led the FACs and light cruisers. Hours later, they returned bringing with them a couple of captured FACs.

"It seems our captured scout was correct," Smith said once we were able to communicate again. We found a bunch of support ships near the choke point as if they were pre-positioning supplies. We didn't actually find any warships other than these two FACs which had been left for repair and resupply, but it looks as if Servant of Angels is preparing for action."

"We need to leave," Abrams said. "Now."

"It's still going to be a few hours before the fleet will be ready to leave," Dexter said.

"We need to at least prepare to leave as soon as possible," Solomon offered.

"We've already begun." I looked toward Smith. "I hope you left scouts behind to watch for the Cack's return?"

"Of course."

I called up our navigation data. "Judging from what navigation data we've been able to obtain, none of the transit paths will take us directly where we want to go. Rather than going hundreds of gates deeper into Cack space, zigzagging through The Sons of the Archer's territory, we can take a few short-cuts through open space. This will require some weeks of travel under H-drive, so I suggest that we stock up on as many parts and supplies as we can get before we go."

Maxwell grimaced. "I didn't particularly enjoy our last long boost through the nebula into the inner sphere."

"What does the oracle think is the best course?" Solomon asked.

"Yes," Smith said, "What does the kairogram say?"

Dr. Hindmost looked at something off camera for a long minute before his eyes turned back toward us. "Between two points, the shortest distance is also the fastest."

Chris, who normally preferred to skip these meetings, laughed. "I believe I actually understood that."

Smith smiled. "We can go back and hit the Cack supply ships on the way out. We weren't able to grab everything and I doubt they've gone far."

* * *

With the H-drive and Cack transit stations, it is easy to sometimes forget how big space really is. Even traveling at a relative speed of eight times the speed of light, it was going to take us nearly a month to reach the first system, assuming the QWEGs didn't give out first. We ran the engines well past their approved run time, though we were occasionally forced to stop for maintenance. Our engineers, having been told to try to maintain them while running or at least to monitor them carefully, were all pulling their hair out.

Our crews were also being pushed to their limits. Strange sporadic system failures caused by the matter degradation as a side effect of the Quantum Wave Effect Generators, kept the entire crew busy with inspections and repair. In addition, the long days with too many people crammed in small spaces without relief, dwindling food supplies that forced the cooks to try desperate experiments with vat-grown yeast and the usual friction of personalities all took their toll.

We were only a day or two away from the first system when we lost our first ship. Bringing up the rear, the Phoenix came across the North Wind floating dead in space. It seems that no one had bothered to stop to help them, and though we tried, we didn't have the parts they needed. Since the next system was nearby, we told them to manage as best they could and we would go get help.

The system was nameless and uninhabited. It had a single habitable planet whose only indigenous life forms were algae, various planktons and moss. In desperation, some ships sent shuttles down and after testing declared the local plant life edible, or at least non-toxic. We set up a parts exchange as we had before, and I made sure a ship went back for both the North Wind and a couple of other stragglers.

We only stayed a little over a day before taking off for the next system which, fortunately, was closer. It was an inhabited system connected to the Cack transit network. But as the Phoenix prepared to leave, we noticed that one ship, the Leroy Kelso had broken formation and remained in orbit about our moss planet. I told Commander Brennon to remain in orbit until I had dealt with the Leroy Kelso then I flash messaged their commander. Their coms officer replied instead.

"Are you having drive problems?" I asked. "Do you require assistance?"

"Problems? Of course we're having problems," came the irritated reply. "Nothing works."

"Do you need help with the repairs?"

"No!"

"How long do you think it will be before you are able to break orbit?"

"Never."

"Are you saying your drive is irreparable?"

"No, it works. We're just not going anywhere."

"I—let me talk to your commander."

"Commander Riley hasn't come out of his quarters for nearly a month."

"What have you done with him?"

"We haven't done anything to him. He just refuses to come out."

As I puzzled over a reply, I got an urgent message from Brennon's tactical officer, Mia. Attached to it was a real time feed from the gravimetric sensors. A small fast-moving group of ships were racing towards the North Wind and something in my gut told me they weren't racing to help.

"I take it those aren't our ships." I said to Mia.

"No, and I don't think they're Cack's either. I think they're locals, probably pirates."

"Locals?"

"We've passed near a number of small colony worlds off the main path. None of these worlds are on the transit network and have to transport goods the old fashioned way. This means lots of opportunity for pirates.

"Bring the ship to Alert Stance Gamma and tell Brennon to return to the North Wind at full speed. I only sent a light cruiser back to help get them moving and they may need more firepower." The Phoenix overflew the North Wind and dropped out of FTL between them and the approaching pirates. Commander Brennon began launching the remote fighters, the rail launchers causing the whole ship to tremble as they shoved the small craft to relativistic velocities.

I flash messaged the commander of the North Wind. "What's your status?"

"My engineers tell me we're almost ready," Commander Christina Tomberlin said, "but they're still going to need a couple of hours before we can go FTL." I messaged the commander of the light cruiser NSS Steakley. "Can you break away from the North Wind for a moment?"

Commander Jack Crow replied, "I've got people over there, but it won't keep us from fighting."

"Good. Line up next to us. We're going to go chase away some pirates."

As I expected, the pirates didn't stop to fight but turned aside. They also didn't leave, only lurked nearby to see if we would abandon the apparently crippled ship. I know we had left a scattered trail of broken support craft behind in our long retreat and I can only assume that these pirates or others like them had been picking their bones.

It took nearly an hour to decelerate the remote fighters, return and reload them. In that time the North Wind had got their H-drive back online and was ready to leave. They accompanied us back to the nameless moss planet and the reluctant Leroy Kelso. I flash messaged their ship, but got no response. I probably filled their message queues with requests then, in frustration, messaged Kouvaras. "How would you like to stretch your legs?" I asked.

"I hope you're not sending us down to fight moss." Kouvaras smirked.

"No, not down. Over to the Leroy Kelso."

"They have problems that require my sort of solutions?"

"I think we may have another passive mutiny on our hands. I'd like you to go over with a few of your men and find out what's up."

"Very well, I'll grab a few guys and head over right now."

"And take someone with you who knows environmental," I said, realizing it might not actually be mutiny but some sort of problem caused by a tainted air supply. "I don't imagine you'll need the armor, but you should at least wear pressure suits."

"If it's all the same with you, sir, I'd feel naked without the armor."

I chuckled. "I guess you know best. You've been doing this longer than I have."

"Actually, sir, I haven't."

"Haven't...what?"

"I haven't boarded more ships than you have."

"You mean the two we boarded together...."

He nodded.

"Huh! I just assumed you had more experience in military service."

"Oh, I have. I'm a twenty-year man. It's just that most of my assignments have been ground assignments; weapons master, training instructor..., once I made it into the senior NCOs, well, they don't like us getting out in front of the guns, sir."

"Really? If I'd known that I wouldn't have asked you to personally do all this, just have you send your men, but after that incident with Sherman, I guess I just assumed...."

"Oh, I've enjoyed our little jaunts, sir. In fact I'm looking forward to this one."

"Very well, handle it as you think best. Just get someone over there who can force them to tell me what's going on."

"Right away, sir."

I disconnected then waited impatiently for Kouvaras' telemetry feed data to appear on the trooper's combat data server. When it did, I opened the data stream and got a live picture of the troopers launch deck.

"Com check," Kouvaras said. "Are you there sir?"

He had guessed I would be. I smiled. "Of course."

"What's the POA?"

"Let's try not to leave any holes in the ship.

"We'll try to go in through the hanger, or one of the airlocks."

"Secure the ship as usual."

Kouvaras pointed at several pairs of men. "Bridge, drive, power plant, CA."

"And make the captain's quarters a priority. His sub said he hadn't left it in days. Find out if he's being held against his will or just hiding in there."

"Right. I'll take care of that personally. Anything else?"

"Not at the moment. I'll be following along on your feed in case you need to pull rank."

"OK, team, load up."

The troopers took a breaching pod over. I heard Cruze's voice say, "Leroy Kelso flight control, this is Tango Bravo Zero One Six requesting permission to dock." They waited a moment then repeated their request before an irritated voice said, "Go away."

"We're going in," Kouvaras said.