Xia Phar had a good life for a human on Saer’kah. She didn’t wear a restriction band and the Saer’khi family that had raised her since the Migration treated her like one of their own. Others humans on Saer’kah though had no reason to love the Saer’khi . At least Xia had some semblance of freedom. So when the humans decide to rebel against the Saer’khi and she discovers the real reason for the presence of humans and other aliens on Saer’kah Xia decides to take action. Enlisting the help of her family and her friend Tarek she forms a plan to get everyone out of the alien barracks without arousing suspicion and get them off Saer’kah on one of the newly built colony ships. Sounds pretty easy right? Now Tarek’s crush on her is the least of her problems and leaving Saer’kah is just the beginning.

With the Destiny slowed down, it was now time to take care of the shuttles making their way through the debris field. “I think we can destroy those shuttles before they even make it out of there,” Tarek suggested over subspace comms. “They are about halfway through now, and it’s taking them a while, but the sensors on the Hornets are pretty good. Now that they’re closer we’re able to pick up the ion trails that the shuttles are leaving and I am detecting fourteen individual ion trails. Between our sensors and the Hornets’ small size and maneuverability, we should be able to navigate the field and effectively track them.”

“And with our cloaks they won’t see us coming,” Dot quickly agreed. We can hit and run and at the very least delay them if they can’t navigate that maze as well as we can. Maybe we can even take them all out before they can find their way out and reach orbit. We’ll head in now and start picking off those closest first, Xia and Tanna come at them from behind and start with any stragglers.”

“We’re on it Corporal,” I replied as Tanna and I started navigating the maze back the way we came and made our way toward the nearest ion trails on our sensors.

Dot and Tarek encountered their targets first. Our first sign of their attack was when the enemy comm frequency suddenly came alive with a panicked voice. “Destiny! Something just hit us out of nowhere! Controls aren’t responsive! We’re going to…”

“Woohoo! One down thirteen to go!” Dot called out over our own comms.

“This is Destiny,” Roosevelt’s voice called out. “All shuttles be advised, the enemy has some sort of stealth fighters. Numbers and capability are unknown at this point. Split up and try to make orbit. If you encounter enemy forces try to take them out any way you can.”

“What the fuck are we supposed to use?!” another voice exclaimed angrily. “Harsh language?! These are personnel shuttles, not fighters! We were told this would be an easy in and out, no weapons needed until we were on the ground, a simple snatch and grab!”

Another blip that indicated an ion trail suddenly went dark as Tarek’s voice said, “That’s two. Those shuttles are heavily armored, but their ion thrusters and spaceflight stabilizers seem to be vulnerable to attack.”

Tarek and Dot managed to bag two more each before we caught up and encountered our first targets. I almost felt bad for them as I heard the panicked voices of our enemies calling out to one another over their comm frequency. They knew that they were in way over their heads at the moment and that their chances of getting out of the debris field and planet-side were growing slimmer by the second. This was war though. We didn’t start it, and we didn’t want it, but we weren’t going to just roll over and let them take what was ours without a fight. If they weren’t going to surrender now that the odds seemed to be in our favor rather than theirs, then that was their problem, not ours.

As soon as we were in range of the group of blips Tanna peeled off and we each went after our intended targets. Now that I was able to get a look at the shuttles close up they appeared to be less than a quarter of the size of our medical dropship, and a lot of that size was the armored hull, so either it wasn’t carrying a lot of gear and/or troops or it was really crowded in there. I was guessing thirty troops at most per shuttle, less if they had any bulky gear with them. It didn’t really matter to me how many people were on it though, I couldn’t let those shuttles land if I could help it.

The pilot of the shuttle I was after was good, rolling and weaving through the debris field as I tried to get a lock on him. He was getting the most out of that shuttle. It wasn’t very maneuverable with its bulk, but he was making the most of his surroundings by darting through large chunks of space rock and making it very difficult to get a lock on him. I finally managed to lock the targeting reticule in my goggles on the shuttle’s thrusters and as soon as the second reticule overlapped the first I gave the verbal command to fire. The rear half of the shuttle exploded and the rest careened off to crash into a large chunk of lunar debris that dwarfed it in size.

I can’t be sure how long that our game of cat and mouse went on with those shuttles, but we did manage to take out all fourteen of them. It seemed too easy to me though. Granted, we were in cloaked ships that were fast, maneuverable, and designed for exploring asteroid belts and the like so I shouldn’t have been surprised at our seemingly easy victory, but I couldn’t help but feel like something was wrong. Maybe I was just getting used to the other shoe dropping, but as it turned out I was right.

“Xia to So-Phar, we’ve cleaned up the mess in the debris field and we’re heading on home to plan our next move,” I called out over subspace comms once we had done a quick sweep of the debris field to scan for any further ion trails.

There was a delay of almost a minute before we received a response from Third. “Xia, you must hurry back. I am detecting six more shuttle type crafts approaching the planet. I believe that they branched off from the others as they entered the debris field and followed the outer edge of the field to approach Unity from the other side of the planet where the debris is almost non-existent. They will be able to enter our atmosphere within the hour.”

“Shit! How the hell did they manage that?” I snapped, cursing myself for not seeing that coming.

“Those shuttles couldn’t maneuver worth shit at speed, but they were pretty quick on the straightaway,” Dot suggested. “If they were going around the debris field, and not having to make their way through a bunch of space rocks, they were probably able to really open them up.”

“Well we’d better do the same if we’re going to stop them from landing,” I grumbled. “You said that they’ll be there within the hour?”

After another brief delay Third confirmed. “Yes, within the hour. The shuttles are significantly smaller than the Destiny and travel much quicker than it at sub-light speeds.”

“We’ll be back as fast as we can, but it’s going to be cutting it close. Tell Dennis and Luiza to be ready to roll out the welcome mat,” I told the android with a sigh as I plotted the fastest course I could out of the debris field and put on as much speed as I thought that I safely could.

The shuttles had already entered the atmosphere by the time we made it back through the debris field and Third had briefly lost track of them during that time. By the time he had found them again using the cloaked satellites they were already landing on the coastline, about thirty klicks south of So-Phar. We managed to find their landing site and used our particle beam cannons to make sure they wouldn’t be returning to those shuttles, to either try to get away or retrieve any useful supplies from them. Unfortunately, the troops they had been carrying had already managed to disembark and make for the cover of the forest.

Since our part in the defense seemed to be done with for the moment we decided to return to the settlement. “So-Phar, we’ve done all that we can for the moment, we’re on our way home now. Is the welcome mat out yet?” I sent over subspace comms as we headed north to take the Hornets home and return to base.

“Roger that Commander,” Dennis’ voice confirmed. “We’ve got their position and Crawlers are on route now with Lt. Sanchez’s welcoming party on board. We’ll drop them off on the other side of the river so they can set up the party favors to let our guests know that we’re thinking of them and then we’ll fall back to our side of the river to set up a perimeter.”

“We have roughly four hours until darkness falls, and they’re roughly twenty three klicks from the river. They could make it there by dark, but it’s unlikely given that they’re on rough and unfamiliar terrain. We’ll set up the party favors and then find a place to lay low until they’re ready for a little company,” Luiza added.

“Be careful out there Lieutenant, I don’t want to lose anyone if we can help it. Third counted fifteen bodies per shuttle from the satellite feeds, which means you’ll have roughly ninety combatants out there, so you’ll be outnumbered,” I cautioned as a wave of anxiety hit me. That’s when it really hit me that we were at war. Now that the adrenaline rush from my near constant activity in space had subsided I became aware of not just the shuttles that we had destroyed, but the people who had been on them, living people not too much different from me and the other colonists. Sure they might be working for Earth, but that didn’t mean they were all selfish assholes, hell some might really be just following orders.

No, I didn’t have the luxury of doubting myself, no matter who they were as individuals there were still here, still attacking Unity and trying to take what was ours. They didn’t have any reservations about killing us to take it either, so if we didn’t fight back then it could very well be the people that I cared for who would die. I couldn’t let that happen, not after everything that we had been through together so far. With that in mind I tried to trust in Luiza’s and Dennis’ abilities and allow myself to be somewhat reassured when Luiza replied, “We’ll be careful. Try not to worry Commander; we know the terrain, we’ll know where the traps are set, and the Murqui and Haran are well adapted to attacking their prey quickly and silently in the dark.”

“We’ll leave you to it then, good luck Lt. Sanchez,” I replied, desperately hoping that she was right.

The evening meal was almost ready to be served by the time we had returned to So-Phar and landed the Hornets at the outer edge of the settlement. Once we had given Karran the signal, he had briefly turned off the EM shield so that we could enter and then as soon as we were inside the perimeter it was back up again to keep us all safe. While Tanna went to spend some time with her new Tess’hir and Dot went to go await the meal and socialize with some of the other colonists a bit, Tarek and I headed back to the Medical Dropship. *We’re all back safe and sound,* I sent to Krie on the heels of a ping.

Things had been fairly quiet during our mission, with no real medical issues to speak of, so Krie and Amy had the ship set up for triage as best that they were able. *I am so glad that you all have returned safe,* my sister sent back, wrapping me in a mental embrace. *We were all worried about you.* Her thoughts were still worried, but now about those who were out preparing to hassle the enemy on the ground. I couldn’t blame her really, since I was feeling the same way.

Speaking of worry though, I was a bit concerned not to see Amy and Shui with my sister in the receiving area. *How did things go with Shui while I was gone?*

*Shui was a bit fussy at first, but Amy managed to settle her. Jinna fed her about two hours ago so Amy took her to her room for a bit of playtime and a nap. They both needed the rest I think, because I checked on them a little while ago and they were both fast asleep. Amy was a big help getting things set up for emergency care when Shui was napping earlier though, so between that and doting on Shui the rest of the time, she deserves the rest,* Krie informed me with a smile and a loving warmth in her thoughts.

*Thanks for keeping an eye on them, and on things here,* I replied as I hugged her tightly and sent my own warm and sisterly thoughts her way. *I’ll go wake Amy, dinner should be ready soon, so we can head out and eat together. There’s not much more we can do now but listen to the comms to see how we’re doing, and be ready in case things go badly, so we might as well do that along with the rest of the colonists.*

Amy was fast asleep, with Shui nestled safely and comfortably in a nest of blankets beside her. The infant Txela was sleeping contentedly as Kit and Violet watched the pair of sleeping girls attentively. *Good girl Kit,* I sent to my slip as I went to sit on the bed and gently shake Amy’s shoulder. As soon as I was sitting Kit hopped into my lap buzzing happily as feelings of relief and love assaulted my mind. I sent similar affections back to her as I focused on waking my eldest ward. “Amy honey, wake up. I’m back and it’s time to wake up for dinner.”

“Huh? Xia…” Amy seemed to stir, but wasn’t quite awake yet.

Tarek had come in with me and was grinning down as Amy as she mumbled in her half-asleep state. “Come on Amy, it is time to eat. I am sure that watching your little sister for so long was exhausting, but we’re here to relieve you now, so come eat and you can tell us how things went while we were gone.”

“Huh? Xia… Tarek…” Amy replied sleepily before becoming fully cognizant of the world around her, and our presence. Then Tarek and I were both smothered in a bone crushing hug as she fully awoke and pounced on us each in turn. “I’m so glad you’re both back safe, are Tanna and Dot…”

“They’re both fine too,” I assured her. “We took out most of the shuttles, but some managed to sneak by on the outer edge of the debris field. Luiza and her team are out preparing their ‘welcome to Unity’ party now.”

Amy frowned at that, but nodded as I took the baby sling from her and put it on. “I hope they’re all going to be okay.”

I tried to give her a reassuring smile that wouldn’t show how scared I was about them not coming back as I picked up my baby and settled her comfortably in the sling. “They’ll be fine Amy. Luiza was a Navy SEAL and she’s a terror in a fight, Matt’s pretty tough and hard to hurt too, and the Murqui and Haran are all warriors and at home in the darkness. Plus they all have their slips with them to help dig traps and warn them of danger.” I knew most of those in the welcoming party fairly well and a loss of any one of them would be not only heartbreaking to me personally, but to the whole colony as well. There were so many things that could go wrong, so many good people who could die.

Luiza may have had the training, but she hadn’t been in the military for nearly seven years since a perforated lung had ended her career. Matt had just become my Tess’hir and despite his bionic limbs and nanites he could still die, my own close call had proven that well enough. Rinnik may have been Murqui, and she would be working with Lirra, but this battle would be her first real test of her warrior training. Then there was Jittu’s parents as well. What if something happened to them? Could I really raise Jittu in the Murqui way as I had promised when I became her Niadu? I tried my best not to think about it all, at least not at the forefront of my mind where my fellow Saer’khi or Shui might pick up on those apprehensive thoughts.

Dinner was an uncharacteristically quiet and somber affair. We were all worried about how things were going to turn out and about those of us who were out there fighting for our lives and freedom instead of being safe under the EM shield with the rest of us. Karran had managed to fix Angela’s communication device, so we were able to listen in on their comms without having to join Third in his ship. Tanna had gone to join the android though to keep an eye on the sensors, in case the Destiny had any other surprises to send our way and to let us know of any frequency switches on the Earthers’ comm channel. It was as we all sat there after dinner, close to two hundred people anxiously crowded together listening to that one small device and one of our own subspace comm units, that our visitors discovered the first of the traps, the hard way.

They lost three people to traps and were forced to progress more carefully, and slowly after that. From their comm chatter they had thought that this would be a cake walk once they got here, but our greeting out in space with the Hornets, and the party favors that they had ‘discovered’ were quickly relieving them of that notion. They also apparently had an idea on how to get past the EM shield when the time came, should it still be up. They had some sort of devices that would resonate at a frequency that would allow the wearers to pass through it, once they found the right frequency, much like Karran had modified a few of our subspace comm discs for that purpose.

By nightfall the Earthers had lost several more troops to cleverly hidden traps and that was when the operation began. Luiza’s team had left their hiding spots and were teaching them that night on Unity was a beast, and that beast had claws, and lots of teeth. Murqui and Haran attacked from the shadows, swift, silent, and deadly, taking down a soldier or two only to disappear back into the darkness as others attacked from another spot. They could see them somewhat with night vision goggles, but darkness wasn’t the only problem since there were traps to worry about and the Murqui and Haran were both fast and possessed true night vision. They had lost nearly half their troops by the time they reached the river, while our own losses had been mercifully light, though painful to those of us listening in as we lost Loxx and Jittu’s father Tekku to lucky strafing fire.

Pallu was ready for them at the river though. Crocosaurs were fast in the water, but not as fast as a Yazuik and she had managed to somehow get three of them to follow her toward the gunfire. “Well those things are angry and hungry. It’s a good thing we Yazuik can climb trees as quick as we swim.” I heard her voice say amid distant gunfire on our comm frequency.

That was just before I heard one of men on the Earthers’ channel say, “We’re at the river! Everyone get out of the woods and to the water! They’ll have to leave the cover of the trees to attack us and we can take them out! Use the rocks near the water for cover in case they have ranged weapons!”

“On it Colonel! Wait a minute, that’s not a rock, it’s moving… Aaaaaughhh!”

“That was a really nasty idea Pallu, I love it,” Luiza’s voice came over our own channel. “We’ve got them now Commander! They have three pissed crocosaurs in their midst and we’ll keep our distance and fire at them from the cover of the trees with our particle beam cylinders. Captain White, how do things look from the other side of the river?”

“We’ve got a good bead on them Lieutenant, so we’re ready when you are,” Dennis quickly replied. “Just give the word Commander and we’ll fire.”

I was torn. As much as I hater these Earthers for what they were trying to do to us and for how Earth in general had treated us, they were living people and we had won. I looked down at Shui, contentedly suckling at my breast and sighed. I couldn’t have those deaths be on my conscience, not without giving them a chance to surrender first. “Warning shots first, let them know they’re surrounded,” I ordered, hoping that it wouldn’t come back to bite me in the ass later.

“You got it Commander,” Dennis and Luiza replied, nearly at the same time. And then the sound of particle beams firing rang out over the distant sound of gunfire and screams.

I activated the Earth comm unit. “This is Commander Phar. You are surrounded, and we could kill you all any time we like, but I’m going to give you a chance to drop your weapons and surrender. If you surrender then we will chase off those crocosaurs and you will be treated well as prisoners until you can be returned to the Destiny. If you decide to refuse my gracious offer then I’ll let my people enjoy the show while those crocosaurs tear you apart and then have them finish off those of you who manage to survive once the ‘saurs have had their fill.”

Roosevelt’s furious voice came over the channel screaming, “Phar! You’re the one who is going to surrender you half-breed bitch!”

“That’s funny, I thought that people normally asked for surrender when they are actually winning a battle Captain Roosevelt. Besides, I wasn’t asking you, I was asking your men on the ground. Don’t you men think that your captain has underestimated us and put you in danger enough? Surrender, and I won’t let any harm come to you until you can be returned to the Destiny or....”

“I have a full barrage of 50 megaton nuclear missiles ready to launch at your settlement as soon as we reach orbit Phar,” Roosevelt interrupted me. “We would rather get everything we came for, but I have the authority to destroy your colony and everyone in it if I think you’re a threat and we can still come out ahead by claiming the planet and mining those elements for ourselves. If you surrender we’ll let you live, as laborers.”

I was cursing silently, unsure if the shield could take that kind of beating, but pretty sure that that answer would be a ‘no’. There was also our people outside by the river to consider. They’d be caught in the blast as well. That was when Luiza’s voice came over our comms system. “They’ve dropped their weapons and we’re driving off the Crocosaurs now Commander. As soon as we’re sure that they’re fully unarmed we’ll move in to restrain them with the Crawlers covering us.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. At least that was one problem dealt with. “Good work everyone, keep a good eye on them even after you have them restrained though.” Now what to do about Roosevelt? I tapped the Earther comm unit again. “Are you insane Roosevelt? Your own people are down here and well within range of such a blast. I know you don’t think much of us, but do you really think so little of the men under your command?”

“They knew the risks going in and the rewards are worth the spilled blood,” he replied callously.

That only made me furious, how could he claim to be a leader and treat the lives of those under his command with such little regard? It sickened me. That was when I received a ping from Tanna followed quickly by a wave of relief and joy that engulfed me as she sent her thoughts. *Xia! Three ships just appeared from subspace to surround the Destiny! From the energy signatures I would say that one is a kian’ja class vessel and the others are Murqui and Haran ships.*

*It looks like the cavalry is here,* I replied, my own thoughts ecstatic as a grin painted itself onto my face. “Roosevelt, I’m going to give you one last chance to surrender. You may have noticed those energy surges near your ship, those would be our reinforcements. Those are combat-ready ships with the most advanced weapons systems that the Saer’khi have ever designed. Stand down now if you know what’s good for you.”

Tanna’s next thoughts were a jumble of confusion and fear. *We’re reading weapons fire Xia! It’s from the Destiny!*