Endurance by A. C. Spahn

Author:A. C. Spahn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: scifi, humor, science fiction, first contact, alien invasion, short story collections, science fiction anthologies, situational comedy, comedy sci fi, space police
Publisher: A. C. Spahn

* * *

It took the ship’s computer about an hour to determine their exit point from D Drive and calculate the necessary travel plans to return them to Earth. Captain Withers used that time to debrief Areva, Chris, and Joyce and hold a staff meeting about what they’d discovered.

“So they’re not actually interested in attacking us?” asked Matthias. “That’s great!”

“Not yet,” said Chris. “They’re short-staffed, but once they get around to it, I think we can expect them to look for Earth.”

“And when they do come, they’ll come in force,” said Joyce. “We saw the size of their fleet.”

“Were they orbiting their homeworld?” asked Captain Withers. “That dead-looking planet?”

Areva sat slouched in her seat so that her head just barely peeked above the table, but she knew she should answer this one. “It’s possible,” she said. “They were bringing us to see their Sovereign, whoever that is. It would make sense for him to be at their base of operations.”

“Wonder what they did to turn it so lifeless,” the captain said.

“Whether or not it is their base, it makes little difference,” said Viktor. “We cannot fight them.”

“No, but we can’t just wait around for them to get ready for us, either,” said Withers. “Especially now that they know for sure that we’re out here.”

“So what do we do?” asked Chris.

Withers placed his palms on the conference table. “If Dispatch takes my advice, the same thing we’ve been doing. We get out there and explore. We look for allies and try to liberate some more of their worlds. We keep an eye out for the Haxozin home, assuming we haven’t already found it. And we keep Earth safe from them.”

“Ooh,” said Matthias, “that’s like capture the flag!” When nobody agreed, he explained, “You know, we’re looking for their base, but trying to protect our own at the same time, and whichever team finds the other team’s base first wins, and …”

“In any case,” Withers interrupted, “I don’t think we’ll have to worry about any reprimands for what happened here today. With our new intelligence, Dispatch will want all hands out there looking for possible ways to defend ourselves. They’ll be willing to overlook minor breaches of protocol.”

“Yay!” said Matthias, which actually made the captain crack a smile.

Areva did not smile, and she didn’t know if her breaches of protocol could be overlooked. Maybe Dispatch would ignore them, especially since Chris and Joyce seemed to think she’d overcome her neurosis about shooting.

But she couldn’t ignore them.

Viktor invited her to his berth for a drink after the meeting, and she accompanied him with anxiety in her heart. She’d made her decision, and she knew that as her closest friend, he should be the first to know. She also knew it would hurt him, but she had to do what was best for everybody.

“To you,” said Viktor, raising his glass in a toast after he’d poured them both a shot of vodka. “Based on what the Fishes said, you are quite a hero.”

He downed his drink, but Areva set hers quietly on the table.

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