Full Moon Fever Part 3




    Dro was amusingly childlike at times for a bodyguard robot.  While Jai Yoon struggled to make a cable to attach the robot’s accessory connector to the worn gold box known as the Celestian Programming Interface, Dro was sitting in the Captain’s chair sideways, her metallic ‘ponytails’ hanging off the edge, and one foot on the floor.  She was spinning the chair ever so slightly one direction, and then the other.


    Shen Rae wasn’t on the bridge.  During the wait, she quietly entered the room just to the left on the middle level of the bridge, adjacent to the Captain’s chair.  Nobody asked her where she was going, the others just assumed she needed a little time alone.


    â€œI think I have it,”  Jai Yoon finally announced.  She was standing on the level of the bridge directly behind the Captain’s chair, using one of the glass workstation surfaces to tear apart and reassemble a connector attached to a long cable.


    They had very few copper data cables in storage on the ship - most of it was entirely glass fiber.  So she took a spare power cable, and worked hard to modify it to attach both to the box, and to Dro’s accessory connector.


    â€œDro’s connector is usually digital,”  Jai Yoon explained, “But it’s probably the only connector on this ship capable of copper data connections, and she can modulate the voltages.”


    Lara sat in the chair beside the Captain’s Chair, amused at watching the robot’s antics.  Dro reminded her a bit of Tandi, except with a much different past.  Any man trying to pleasure himself with Dro would be seriously hurt, as she wasn’t remotely built for that.


    Jai Yoon turned her attention to the robot.  “Are you sure you want to do this?”


    â€œYes,”  Dro replied quickly.  “Hook me up.  I’m interested in what is inside that box.”


    â€œI’m not sure we should do this inside the ship,”  Lara commented.


    â€œHave a little faith in ancient technology,”  Jai Yoon replied.  “It’s safe.  I’m more concerned for Dro, her personality backup is in the ship’s computer.  If she gets corrupted, we can restore her quickly.”


    Lara nodded.  She worried about if it was safe for Dro, too.


    â€œHere we go.”  Jai Yoon announced as she plugged the newly made cable into the accessory port inside a hidden door on the back of Dro’s neck.  


    The other end was plugged into the gold box lying on the floor at Lara’s feet.  It was fairly well planned that way - if the box attacked Dro somehow, Lara would stomp on the disconnect built into the cable, breaking the connection.


    â€œThis is very interesting!”  Dro sat up suddenly as her computer brain started to analyze what it was attached to.  “Hmm.  Alien encryption.  I will need to borrow more processing power to reverse engineer it.”


    â€œDo whatever you have to, Dro.”  Jai Yoon told her.


    Dro’s glowing blue eyes dimmed just them, and all of the lights on the bridge dimmed as well.  Immediately following that, the lights visible in the Dark Station through the window on the bridge dimmed as well.


    â€œThe Alliance Satellite Grid has saturated,”  Jai Yoon commented.


    Shen Rae came out of the small office that she entered earlier, looking bewildered at why the lights suddenly went dim.


    â€œThe what?”  Lara asked.


    Jai Yoon explained, “It’s what gives all of the Alliance systems near instant communications.  Dro must be reaching out across the galaxy for more computing power.”


    â€œI didn’t know she could do that,”  Lara replied.


    â€œMe either,”  Jai Yoon added.  “She’s the first of her kind, a self-programming robot.”


    â€œEverything on this ship is first of a kind,”  Shen Rae provided.  “Can they track the Grid saturation back to here?”


    â€œNot in the condition the Grid is in right now,”  the first officer said.  “Even before Dro took it over, it was overloaded with comms about this craziness going on.”


    Dro’s eyes lit more brightly now, and the lights on the ship and station came back up to normal.  “I’ve broken the encryption,”  she said.  “I’m now not certain it is safe to reprogram the Celestian Space Robots.”


    â€œWhy not?”  Shen Rae asked.


    The robot seemed hesitant to answer at first.  She then glanced at Lara, and said, “I may only be able to tell her.  She is not from this universe.”


    Shen Rae glanced at Jai Yoon for confirmation.  Her friend urged her to follow her off of the bridge.  Two two of them entered the room that Shen Rae had just left.  Once the door to that room closed, Dro spoke quietly.


    â€œAny instruction I give to the Celestian Space Robots will become part of the consciousness of every living and synthetic being on this entire universe.”


    â€œYes, that’s the idea,”  Lara replied.


     There was a long pause from Dro, and then she spoke again.  “We could put an end to wars.  Suffering.  End the deadly rivalry between heroes and villains forever.”


    Lara smiled, and then laughed.  “Dro, you’ve just discovered the age-old struggle of every superhero who ever lived.  And it’s awesome that you’re so conflicted about it.  It means you’re intelligent and thoughtful.”


    â€œWhat do I do?”  Dro asked.  “What do I tell Shen Rae and Jai Yoon?”


    â€œYou tell them that free will is the most important force in the universe,”  Lara told her.  “That every living and synthetic being has the right to find their own path and destiny.  That the universe can’t continue without balance.”


    â€œAnd the damaged Celestian Space Robot is currently harming that,”  Dro concluded.  “Which is why it needs to be reprogrammed.”


    â€œExactly,”  Lara confirmed.  “Why were you afraid to ask Shen Rae and Jai Yoon that question?”


    â€œThey…have a lot more invested in it,”  Dro explained.  “As do I.”


    â€œI do too, Dro.  I might not disappear if this place ends, but I’ll miss it.  I’ll miss you, too.”


    Dro nodded again.  “I’ve told Shen Rae and Jai Yoon that it’s okay to return.”


    Lara figured Dro meant through those bracelets they wore, because she didn’t hear any such notification.  Yet right on cue, Shen Rae and Jai Yoon came back into the bridge.


    â€œLara,”  Jai Yoon spoke first, “Shen Rae tells me she’s concerned about the appearance of that Dimensional Dreadnaught way out here.”


    â€œThat’s what I was doing in there,”  Shen Rae continued.  “Until the Grid was interrupted, I was tracking all noted appearances of Dimensional Dreadnaughts.  None of them have ever been spotted out this far.”


    â€œNot even while the Parody Master was in power,”  Jai Yoon added.  “In fact, the Alliance pretty much didn’t see them at all.”


    Dro chimed in, “The most likely conclusion is that they were hunting us.”


    Lara sighed.  “Which means we might not be safe here.  Dark station or not.”


    â€œNo,”  Dro confirmed.  “I have passing familiarity with the Celestian Space Robot operating system.  It’s capable of using elements of this universe as…an immune system.”


    â€œAnd we’re the virus,”  Jai Yoon concluded.  “Ahhh, that’s why.”


    â€œThat’s why what?”  Shen Rae asked.


    â€œI’ve been tracking the time at the Lair Mansion since we picked up Lara Night.  It’s about a minute past midnight there now.  Yet we don’t feel the compulsion to return there and start killing.”


    â€œWe are now classified as a virus,”  Dro explained.  “The awakened Celestian Space Robot has terminated contact with us.  All of its defenses will attempt to terminate us now.”


    Lara sat upright suddenly - not because she was afraid of the Celestian defenses, because the rest of it triggered a thought in her.  “Why didn’t the Lair Legion think of this earlier?  We could have all been free!”


    Shen Rae lowered her head, and sighed.  “I’m sorry, Lara.  I’m sorry we weren’t able to pull this off earlier.”


    Jai Yoon spoke up then with well-timed words of wisdom.  “There are still many paths so saving them,”  she said.  “We still have control of one of them.  Let’s stay on task.”


    The blonde nodded.  “Jai Yoon is right.  What we missed is less important than what we still need to do.  And it’s good that we’re free.  All our work could have gone to waste if we felt compelled to drop everything and join the battle.”
    
    Dro interrupted the conversation suddenly.  “Shen Rae, your process has completed.  The station computer has located the source of that Dimensional Dreadnaught.”


    Jai Yoon turned to give her Captain a questioning look.


    Shen Rae sighed.  “I had to check,”  she said.  “I’m worried there may be more of them.”


    â€œWe can’t afford to chase them around the galaxy right now, though.”  Jai Yoon pointed out.


    â€œI know,”  Shen Rae sighed again.  “And yet if there are more, they could head to Earth and turn the tide of the battle.”


    â€œYou have a whole bay full of those fighters,”  Lara pointed out.  “How far can they go from us?”


    â€œThey don’t have wormhole anchors,”  Shen Rae replied absent-mindedly.  “Unless…”


    â€œWe install them,”  Jai Yoon completed her thought.  “We only need two, maybe three to go scouting.”


    â€œWhat if they find something?”  Lara asked.


    Shen Rae paused for a moment to consider that.  “I suppose we’ll have to…”


    â€œThe last time, Lara popped their reactor,”  Dro pointed out.  “If we find multiple, I don’t think that she can pop all of them at once, considering their size, and the distance they have to travel apart.”


    Jai Yoon swallowed hard, and slowly let out a secret.  “This Dark Station has a huge battery of synthetic transnuclear cruise missiles.”


    â€œWhat?”  Lara asked.  “Why?”


    Shen Rae stopped Jai Yoon from saying more, and opted to explain herself instead.  “We chose this station for a reason, Lara.  Not just because it’s far away.  It was built by the Core Worlds of the Alliance when the Alliance itself was far more shaky.  If the other Trading Worlds banded together against it…this was their defense.”


    â€œYou look like you have a lot of questions,”  Jai Yoon said.


    Lara almost did have a lot of questions.  But then she thought about the situation they were in now.  And that the Lair Legion had a lot of enemies outside of Earth.  She knew that Yuki Shiro or Hallie would kill to have a Dark Station like this, for next time someone like the Parody Master decided to attack.


    â€œNo,”  she finally replied sadly, heavy with the knowledge that the galaxy was a rough place.  “No, I don’t.”


    â€œI don’t want to use the arsenal,”  Shen Rae clarified.  “I don’t want to complicate our mission.  So let’s hope the scouts don’t find anything.”


    Jai Yoon stood.  “Lara, would you like to help me install warp anchors on three fighters?”


    â€œYeah, sure.”  Lara stood too, and followed the first officer into the elevator.


    After a long pause, since she heard the term twice already, she decided to ask something that was on her mind.  “What’s a synthetic transnuke, anyway?”


    â€œA standard transnuke explodes, and implodes, so it creates a highly massive mini-star that goes supernova an instant later,”  Jai Yoon explained.  “It’s a double explosion.  Our synthetic ones have a stronger implosion, so it creates a supernova, and then collapses into a black hole that doesn’t go away for some time.  It wreaks havok with heat and gravity.  What it doesn’t burn, it tears apart.”


    â€œWow,”  Lara exclaimed.  “Why would it need to?”


    Jai Yoon clarified calmly, “Because it’s a planet destroyer.”


    â€œOh.”  Lara replied quietly, and somewhat sadly.


    â€œIf we do find any Dimensional Dreadnaughts,”  Jai Yoon added, “Let’s hope they’re all parked together.  One missile will destroy all of them.”


    Lara thought that was a good idea, but one thing still worried her.  “What will happen when people find out you have these kinds of weapons?”


    Jai Yoon looked at her sheepishly, and shrugged.


    â€œI guess it’s good we’re really far out.  Maybe no one will notice a few shattered and vaporized Dimensional Dreadnaughts out here.”


    Jai Yoon smiled suddenly, and slapped Lara’s shoulder gently with the back of her hand.  “You just gave me the most awesome idea.”


    â€œWhat?”  Lara asked, but the elevator door opened, and she was off running into the cargo bay.  Lara called after her more loudly, “What?”


    Then the blonde raced after her, to try and find out what suddenly had Jai Yoon so driven.


    â€œI believe on Earth you call it Kamikazi.”  Jai Yoon quickly explained.  “I’m not going to send three fighters.  I’m going to send all of them.  Each one will be set to locate a Dimensional Dreadnaught’s transnuke arsenal and set it off.  They probably won’t all need to be used, but lots of backups are a good thing.”


    â€œI see,”  Lara replied.  “That way if someone investigates, they find evidence of a battle with Alliance fighters.  It looks like we lost the fight, but the Dimensional Dreadnaughts somehow blew themselves up by accident.”


    â€œYes,”  Jai Yoon agreed.  “No evidence of planet killing synthetic transnukes.”


    â€œJai, change of plan!”  Shen Rae announced over her first officer’s wrist band.  It sounded like she was running.  “Get to the Station Control Center, quickly!”


    Jai Yoon looked pale as she paused briefly in the ship’s cargo bay, but then turned sharply to use the small exit into the station.  Lara struggled to catch up - Jai Yoon was quite a fast runner.


    The two of them found an elevator to the rear of the Dark Station’s cargo bay.  Dro was standing to the back of the elevator, holding the door for them.


    â€œWhat’s going on, Dro?”  Lara asked.


    Dro replied, “The armored living beings piloting that first Dimensional Dreadnaught are excellent trackers.”


    â€œWe have more of them?  Here?”  Jai Yoon asked.


    The robot nodded.  “They can’t see us, but they know we are here somewhere.”


    â€œThat’s good, at least,”  Lara replied.


    â€œNo, it’s not!”  Jai Yoon insisted.  “Remember what we told you about how they search an area?”


    Lara did remember.  She paled when she recalled that they tended to search an area by detonating transnukes until they hit something.


    The elevator doors opened into a cramped control center in the very center of the station, to keep it protected.  All of the displays showing the outside were synthesized, because the room had no outside walls.  There wasn’t much visible on them because of the blackness and lack of light from any stars.  The Dimensional Dreadnaughts were painted dark, as well.


    â€œOh good, you’re here,”  Shen Rae said.  “We’re currently stealthed.  I have the pulse cannons and gauss guns activated, but hidden behind doors.”


    Dro explained quietly to Lara, “Weapons give off an energy signal when they are activated.  Hiding them behind doors prevents the signal from getting out until we’re ready to fire.”


    â€œWon’t it create a problem if we wait until they start firing?”  Lara asked.


    â€œIt will create a bigger one if we fire first,”  Jai Yoon pointed out.  “Besides, I’d like to see if we can analyze their signals, they’re behavior.  Maybe we can learn where they came from, how they got those ships.”


    â€œIt appears to me that they salvaged the pieces of some of the destroyed Dimensional Dreadnaughts,”  Dro added.  “They are barely held together.”


    â€œSo they’re good at finding things,”  Lara guessed.  “And they’re pretty good with tech if they got the structural integrity fields to hold those piles of junk together.”


    â€œThat means,”  Shen Rae quietly mused, “We’re not fighting an aggressive species.  They’re salvagers.  They want to take our equipment.  They seek power through tech.”


    â€œThey want the gold box,”  Dro concluded.  “To shut down and salvage the Celestian Space Robots.  The ultimate tech.  The ultimate power.”


    The other three turned to look at Dro, wondering how the robot came to that conclusion.  And yet, it sounded right.


    Shen Rae’s mind was on something else though.  “We don’t change the plan,”  she suddenly said.


    â€œWe still cause the ships to detonate themselves?”  Jai Yoon asked.  “Getting the fighters out there might be a problem though, since we have to open a door to get them out.”


    â€œNo,”  Shen Rae looked directly at Lara.  “We don’t.”


    Lara looked a little confused at first, but she caught on quickly.  “Yeah.  Yes!  We can teleport a few of them outside while they’re stealthed!  The Dreadnaughts won’t know what hit them.”


    â€œTeleport?  No, they’ll detect where it came from.”  Jai Yoon corrected.  “A wormhole, though, the fighters could have come from anywhere.”


    Shen Rae instructed, “Program them so they’ll each focus on gaining access inside the ships, then attack the transnuke storage area.”


    The entire station shuddered suddenly.  The ambient lights flickered ever so slightly.


    â€œAre we being attacked?”  Lara asked.


    â€œShockwave.  They’re searching,”  Jai Yoon indicated.  “We have to hurry.  Follow me, Lara.”


    And again, Lara was off running behind the incredibly fast Jai Yoon.  She barely kept up with the first officer, all the way to elevator, and then to the cargo bay, and up the now opened ramp into the starship.


    By the time Lara caught up, Jai Yoon was carrying a stack of those small bug heavy wormhole plates over her head.  She started to set them down in rows on the deck of the cargo bay.


    This time when the station shuddered, and the lights flickered, there was a rattling to go with it from the starship chattering against the deck.


    â€œGood.  They’re moving farther away.”  Jai Yoon commented as she put down the last plate, and raced back into the starship.


    â€œAfter I get these lined up,”  Jai Yoon announced as she carried more plates out of the ship, “We have to put all of these fighters on top of them.”


    The first officer was shocked when after she put the last plate down, the fighters came gliding toward her in neat rows, lined up perfectly with the wormhole plates.


    â€œSorry,”  Lara said.  “I should have given some warning first.”


    â€œThat’s pretty cool,”  Jai Yoon said with a laugh.  She waved for Lara to follow, and then she raced up the ramp into the starship, and once Lara followed, she closed the ramp.


    Then she explained, “It’s not really safe to stand next to that many small wormholes opening at once.  In here, the ship will protect us.”


    The station shook more violently this time, and the lights went out entirely for a few seconds.


    â€œDefinitely getting close,”  Jai Yoon whispered.  “Ready to launch, Shen Rae.”


    â€œGo for it,”  Shen Rae said, her voice sounding a little shaky.  Her next comment cemented the cause of her worry.  “We won’t get another chance.”


    Jai Yoon bit her lip, activated the fighters, and then the wormhole plates.  In an instant, they were gone from the cargo bay, instantly ported to open space outside the station.


    This time, the station shook violently enough that metal panels fell off of the walls and popped out of the floor.  The low warm lighting all around the walls of the station changed to red, and loud alarms started to go off.


    â€œWe’re losing pressure somewhere!”  Jai Yoon said.  She looked very worried then, and turned to Lara.  “Get Shen Rae, Lara.  Quickly!”


    The blonde felt the urgency in Jai Yoon’s voice, and she went as fast as her energy form would allow, through the decks, straight to the small control center.  Without even speaking to Shen Rae, she grabbed her arm to gain the contact she needed to retrieve her.  Dro quickly took the hint, and gripped Lara’s upper arm.


    In a flash, the three of them appeared back on the starship’s bridge, and Jai Yoon raced in to meet them.


    Shen Rae didn’t even bother to ask for an explanation.  Instead, she quickly asked, “Can we still control the ship?”


    â€œI still have a link,”  Dro replied.  The bridge window fogged over, and switched to a display of the outside of the station.  There were fragments of two huge Dimensional Dreadnaughts, and the fighters were engaging more of them.


    â€œThere are too many,”  Shen Rae complained quietly.  “How did they get ahold of so many of them?”


    â€œWe won’t be able to explore the philosophy of that if we’re dead,”  Jai Yoon commented.  “We should use the station as a decoy and flee.  They can destroy it if they want.”


    â€œThey will take the synthetic nukes,”  Dro pointed out.  “They are salvagers.”


    â€œYes,”  Shen Rae agreed as she glanced at Jai Yoon.  “They will.  We have to make a stand.”


    Then the captain turned to Lara.  “If it comes to it, Lara, destroy everything here.  The universe depends on it.”


    â€œIt won’t,”  Lara promised.  Right after she finished saying that, she vanished in a flash of light.


    â€œWhere did she go?”  Jai Yoon asked.


    Dro didn’t speak - she was pointing at the display on the wall in front of them.  Lara Night had gone outside.  Protected by a shield, of course.


    â€œIf one of the transnukes his her…”  Jai Yoon commented.


    â€œI’m taking over auto-target to cover her.”  Dro announced to no one in particular.


    Outside the station, Lara floated in her safe shield, and she saw volley after volley of white spheres of plasma pelting the Dimensional Dreadnaughts around her, and then a wave of fighters passed very close on an attack run.  Missiles flew by as well, and detonated a pair of the furthest Dimensional Dreadnaughts in brilliant flashes of light.


    She sucked the energy from the closest two, and used the overcharge to send a burst of electromagnetic pulse in every direction, as intense as she could manage, so it wouldn’t completely reach the Dark Station.  It would be partially affected - she couldn’t help that because of the close distance of the fight.


    Lara paused after the first EMP attack, and looked back again to see more missiles fly past her.  Thousands of plasma pulses, going nonstop, and more fighters.  It was nonstop, and it if wasn’t space, it would be incredibly loud.  The Dimensional Dreadnaughts retaliated with laser blasts that didn’t penetrate the station’s shield, and occasionally firing badly aimed transnukes.


    Her heart broke for a moment when she realized that no matter how much she tried to avoid the Resolution War back on Earth…this was a war.  And she was right in the middle of it.


    Her thought was punctuated by bright flashes around her as the Gauss Gun array on the Dark Station ignited again and again, firing solid pieces of metal, impaling the mob of Dimensional Dreadnaughts, compromising their structural integrity.  She looked back at the station.  Someone there was specifically working with her as she gradually broke down all of the large ships’ energy fields.


    Energy fields.  That was it!  Instead of fighting of this huge group of ships, she needed to change the playing field so they couldn’t fight anymore.  I’ve never done this before, she thought to herself, but no better time to try it.


    She zapped herself back inside the station, and touched the inside wall of the cargo bay.  She grunted first, and then primally screamed as she tried to shift every molecule of that huge station and the ship within toward much more loosely bonded energy.  All of the Dimensional Dreadnaught attacks would simply pass right through.  But the station’s pulse weapons, which fired energy, would continue to work.  They wouldn’t be able to use the Gauss Guns or missiles, though.


    â€œOkay, Lara.  Take a deep breath.  Stage two.”  she said to herself as she steeled herself for the next step.


    The blonde dug her fingers into the metal hull as a ground, to keep everyone and everything inside safe.  Then she unleashed every ounce of electrical power she had, transmitted through the hull, and chaining at the speed of light through every single metallic Dimensional Dreadnaught.


    And then there was silence.  Nothing at all.  The Dimensional Dreadnaughts were all dead in space, and the pulse guns on the station all simultaneously overloaded.  


    Lara tried to pull free from the wall, but the metal had melted around her fingers.  She used a small amount of power to pass right through it.  She looked at her own hands - they were swollen, and bright red.  Then she stumbled backward, and fell into the waiting arms of Shen Rae.


    â€œEasy,”  she heard Shen Rae whisper as she lost consciousness.  “We’ll take care of you.”


    


    â€”-






    When Lara awoke again, she was floating in a tank full of liquid without clothing, and a plastic mask attached to her face to let her breathe.  The tank was transparent, and she recognized the ship’s medical facility.  She couldn’t speak, because of the mask, which was frustrating when she saw Dro stroll into the facility, shine her glowing blue eyes into the tank, and then tilt her head.


    A muffled voice said, “She has remarkable healing powers.  Usually this takes much longer.”


    Inside the tank, she heard a loud ‘click’, and then she could see the level of liquid start to drop quickly.  After a few seconds, she could hear clearly again, and then after a few more, she felt her feet settle onto a metal floor.  Then the glass tube slid downward, opening to the outside air.


    She started shivering violently just as Shen Rae threw a huge blanket over her naked skin.  She was too cold to even speak, so the questions would have to wait.  But that went away quickly, as the blanket wasn’t all that ordinary - it was heated.


    â€œWhat happened?”  Lara asked quietly, her voice scratchy.


    â€œNot entirely sure,”  Shen Rae replied.  “I think the massive energy release created a lot of heat, and burned your skin.  Did you ever have that happen before?”


    â€œI’m badly burned?”  Lara asked.


    â€œNot anymore,”  the captain told her.  “I put you in a restoration tank.”


    Lara remembered the restoration tank from long ago.  Hatman was in it, sent there to heal from being killed.  His brain patterns had been transferred to her while his body was being repaired.  It proved to be a very awkward few days.


    â€œNormally it would take a few days to repair that kind of damage, but you have amazing healing ability.”


    â€œIt’s all this stuff here giving off energy for me to absorb,”  the blonde replied as she shivering began to subside.  “What did I miss?”


    â€œNot much,”  Shen Rae told her.  “We were waiting for you, because we want the decision to go after the Celestian to be unanimous.”


    â€œSince we’ll probably all die,”  Lara concluded.


    The starship captain nodded sadly.


    Lara sighed, and wrapped the blanket more tightly around herself, since she was feeling chilled again - only this time it wasn’t because she was cold.  “I guess we waited as long as we could.  I didn’t get any message that said the war was over.”


    Shen Rae nodded again.  “Get dressed.  We’ll talk about this more with Jai Yoon on the bridge.”


    Lara followed the instructions quickly, racing through the hallway wrapped in a blanket, her feet tapping against the smooth floor.  It was so clean aboard that ship, she wasn’t afraid of padding around with bare feet.


    When she returned to her room, she realized that her own clothing had been badly burned.  Left for her instead was a blue uniform that matched the one Jai Yoon wore.  She put that on, and wondered how Shen Rae managed to fit it to her size perfectly in such a short time.  She figured there must be some machine aboard that generates and trims replacement uniforms.


    She was surprised at how comfortable the uniform was; usually uniforms on Earth were stiff and constricting.  Even the boots were pliable and felt soft, like walking on carpet.


    Upon entering the bridge, she forgot about the uniform when Shen Rae and Jai Yoon, and even Dro, turned to face her.


    â€œYou look nice,”  Jai Yoon commented.


    The blonde nodded, but the topic on her mind made her too nervous to come up with a proper response.  Fortunately, Shen Rae spoke up right away.


    â€œHow do we approach this?”  the captain asked Lara.  “You’re from that area of the universe.  How can we sneak up to the Celestian without getting involved in a battle?”


    â€œOr the Celestian attacking us directly,”  Jai Yoon added.


    Lara ran her fingers through her long blonde hair, and sighed, as she started to pace the bridge.  “I don’t really know.  I didn’t expect to have to do this.  I expected this whole war to resolve more quickly.”


    â€œUnfortunately, Lara…it didn’t work out that way.”  Jai Yoon told her.


    â€œYeah.  I know.”  she noted sadly.  “And I guess that means I have to make a decision.  The fate of the universe in my hands.”


    â€œThere’s no one better for the job,”  Shen Rae encouraged her.


    The blonde smiled at that briefly.  Then her smile disappeared as something she said gave her an idea.  “Wait.  The battle!  The Celestian will be watching it, enjoying it.  If we can circle around it undetected…”


    â€œAnd we can, with some stealth,”  Jai Yoon interrupted.


    Lara finished, “We should be able to get close without it noticing us.”


    Shen Rae nodded.  “Let’s do it.  Dro, is the code ready?”


    Dro replied, “It’s ready to cross-compile, once I compensate for any differences in processor type after final connection.”


    â€œThat won’t take too long, will it?”  Jai Yoon asked.


    â€œI will need to hijack the Galactic Comms Network again to do it quickly,”  the robot indicated.


    The captain nodded.  “Lara, are you prepared in case we have to go inside the Celestian to use the Interface?”


    She nodded.


    â€œGood.”  Shen Rae turned to Jai Yoon.  “Launch a wormhole anchor.  Let’s get this over with.”




TO BE CONTINUED






-- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2017 by Jason Froikin, and may not be 
--    reprinted without permission.