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A newly un-retired Admiral Hooker stood amidst a flurry of activity in the main control room of Lunar Command. They were deep inside the moon, and the theory was only the destruction of the moon itself could disable this base. It was a good theory.
He was looking again at the orders from the President calling him back to active duty. Sighing, he closed the screen and looked around him. As far as his eyes could see, which was still pretty far for a man of his age, techs were manning data stations. Sensors from all the planets’ moons as well as Mars, Neptune and Pluto were fully activated. Clusters of Star-Guardians and Restan warships were scattered around the solar system, ready to pounce on any threat that may be detected.
The problem was none had been, and they’d been on full alert for two weeks now. He could see the weariness in the eyes of the staff. He was pondering the age-old problem, how to be alert without having his crews be too exhausted to meet the threat if it finally came?
Admiral English, Supreme Commander of all Earth’s defense forces, walked up and stood next to him. They exchanged looks that said without words there was nothing new.
Hooker shook his head as he pondered not for the first time the cost humanity had to bear to protect its very existence. He was old enough to remember when the gravity drive had been invented, and the first ships ventured off to Alpha Centauri. Hoping for adventure and wealth, instead they had found only planets ruined by a long ago war. Long ago, but not so long ago in terms of space and time.
Once it had become clear the Alphans hadn’t destroyed themselves, but that they and every living thing on their planet had been the victims of an alien attack from space, panic had set in.
As the years had gone by and nothing had been found threatening Earth, and all the preparations for defense that were humanly possible had been made, the panic had subsided.
Now it was back.
But now they were not alone, either. Restans, the very existence of their race a mystery, were scattered among the humans. Mutual defense was of the highest priority, and they had begun to cooperate more and more.
“Let’s go to my office, Claude,” Admiral English was saying. “We have important visitors.”
As they walked something occurred to him. “Admiral, I am seeing way more than the twenty percent Restan integration here that I’d recommended.”
“It’s closer to forty percent. I didn’t realize you’d been away so long,” English answered without looking over at Hooker, his eyes focused ahead, his mind a thousand other places at once.
Hooker laughed. “Not that long away. Just out of the loop. Lunar Command never has been good at keeping the civilians informed of what’s going on.” His voice trailed off. Did the general population of Earth and elsewhere even now know what had happened? And suddenly it made him wonder, was this the first incident of its kind?
Before he could ask those two questions they arrived at English’s office. The sight of the important visitor made him forget, for the moment, his questions.
“Sara!”
She turned and jumped up from her chair. They hugged. “How the hell did you get here so...” He knew the answer when he saw the other two figures in the room.
“Tandew! Taland! I can’t believe this!”
The two Restans merely sat on their haunches, watching, acknowledging him only with a faint nod of their great heads.
“Yes, the old gang, together again!” Sara said, laughing.
As he released Sara and approached them, Taland stood on all four feet and stepped forward, placing himself between him and Tandew. Even at full height his head barely came above Hooker’s waistline.
“It is good to see you again, Hooker,” Taland said. “Allow me to introduce to you the newest member of the Supreme Authority on Restas.” He backed up a step and looked at Tandew. “Supreme Authority Tandew.”
Hooker stared first at Taland and then at Tandew. Was this some sort of Restan humor? He tried to read Taland’s face, which was impossible, then looked at Tandew as it dawned on him.
“I am deeply honored,” he began at last. “But most of all, let me offer my congratulations.” He put his hand out in an offer of the hand clasp the two races, and he and Tandew in particular, had made their custom upon meeting.
“It is my honor to meet you again, Hooker.” Tandew clamped his four-fingered front paw around Hooker’s offered hand, the extra-long thumb nearly wrapping all the way around.
“Well, I’m glad to see you remember each other,” English said. If you’ll all sit down we can discuss our next steps.”
Hooker turned and sat down on a small couch, next to where Sara had seated herself. She smiled quickly and touched his hand, then just as quickly her smile was gone, and he could see her serious concentration on the subjects at hand. And, knowing her mind, jumping ahead sixteen thoughts at the same time.
“Supreme Authority Tandew,” English began. “Let me personally express my own and my government’s gratitude to you for your support during this crisis. The providing of additional personnel to help in our command centers will greatly relieve the strain we have been under. Also it will enable us to more quickly staff the new Star-Guardians being rushed into commission.”
English stopped speaking and waited for Tandew to reply. Hooker smiled inwardly, knowing one would not be forthcoming. Restans did not make small talk, and did not respond to the obvious. At least not that Restan.
English cleared his throat and continued, looking to Hooker this time. “Admiral, the reason you were recalled to active service, and why Sara and Taland were asked to come here, was to discuss a new development in the situation.”
Hooker glanced over at Sara, but she showed no reaction to the news that he had been recalled to active service.
“After the attack at Tau Ceti, the Restans sent a small squadron of warships to reinforce our depleted defenses there. One of their ships picked up a distress call from a life craft. It was identified as from the Star-Guardian Mars. Among the survivors on board are the Captain and First Officer...”
“Tallie! I mean, Captain Talbot? She is safe?” Sara burst out. Some of the serious, worried expression on her face had suddenly lifted.
“Uh, yes, that would be Captain Talbot, along with First Office Tropo, a Restan. Whether they are safe or not remains to be determined.”
English held up his hand to stave off another question from Sara. “Before the Restan ships could reach them, another large ship was observed in the area. After it departed, the distress signal had gone silent, and the life craft could not be found.”
“So this other ship has them,” Tandew stated.
English looked at him. “It would seem very likely.”
“What kind of ship? Was it like the ones which had attacked us?” Hooker asked.
“Unknown, but not of the type, though it doesn’t mean it wasn’t the same race.”
“Watchers,” Taland said, and looked at Sara.
“Very probably,” Sara said, nodding at her old friend.
“Admiral English,” Tandew said, impatience coming through even in their translators. “Why do you over-dramatize this situation? Why not just tell them?” He looked at Hooker and Sara. “Our warships were able to follow the unknown ship and are now watching it. We know where they are. The question is, why are we waiting to go in after them?”
English sat back in his chair and regarded Tandew. Hooker wondered if the Supreme Commander of Earth’s forces would express anger at a Supreme Authority of Restas? Most Restans would rather charge right through the bush than beat around it. He decided against saying anything, to see how it played out between these two “allies.”
He hadn’t accounted for Sara though. “Admiral English, if there is any possibility at all that ship picked up Captain Talbot and the others, we must go and rescue them.”
English turned his attention from Tandew to her. “There is no question of our going after them. The question is, how shall we go. In force, or shall we send the Ambassador? However we do it, I want the four of you to go along.”
Now Hooker knew why he had been recalled. He was going to be put back in charge of the Ambassador, the converted Star-Guardian which had stopped the war between Earth and Restas. So, she wasn’t going to be converted into a warship after all!