* * *
The three ships arrived in Sierra Space at the location of a solar system that a Blue Giant Scout had entered. Chris keyed his com, “Captain Arvolo, get rid of that Scout quickly and notify us when it’s destroyed.”
“Yes Sir.” Arvolo found the spot the Scout had left Sierra Space and cut the stardrive….and emerged less than a mile from the huge Scout. He glanced at his board and saw the energy cannons charging on the Scouts hull. He hit the override and fired his main beam immediately. The Scout exploded and scattered debris in all directions. Arvolo reactivated the automatic system as the debris hit the force field and burned on its surface. “The Scout has been destroyed.”
Chris looked at Jillian, “That fast?” The two ships entered normal space and saw the wreck of the scout hanging in space exploding in different places as its missiles were touched off by the fire. The three ships waited and nothing appeared. After an hour Chris hit his com, “It appears we were wrong about that ship’s mission.”
Kenny said, “I don’t think so, Sir.”
“Why do you say that, Admiral?”
“I just looked at the recording of the Scout’s destruction and I think I know why the Giant didn’t come.” Kenny commed Aman Forester and played the call over the intership system, “Captain Forester, have you seen any change in the Blue Battleship.”
“Yes Sir, about an hour ago its color changed to a brighter hue and stayed that way for fifteen minutes. It has now returned to its normal level.”
“Thank you, Captain. Carry on.”
“So what happened?”
Kenny chuckled, “It appears our overachiever here killed the Scout before it could transmit its location.”
“Hey, hey, you told me to do it quickly.”
Jillian shook her head, “He’s right.”
Chris sighed, “We’ll try this again and this time you will allow the Scout the time to call for help.”
Arvolo tried to swallow but couldn’t. He had just ticked off the Commander of the Fleet.
Kenny commed, “Hey don’t feel bad, RV. You just made history.”
“What do you mean?”
“You are humanity’s first Space Ace. That’s your eleventh kill. No one else can ever take that title from you.”
Arvolo thought a moment and said, “You’re right!”
“Congratulations, Captain, however, give them a moment next time to appreciate your achievement.”
“I will Admiral.”
Chris looked at his display, “We have another Scout in a system two hundred light years from here. That will be our next target. I’ve sent you the coordinates. I’ll meet you there.”
The Blue Giant Battleship’s Commander wanted to scream. A Scout was being attacked but had only been able to get out half of its coordinates. There was no way to find it. He waited and nothing else was received. He seethed with anger and waited. If the enemy followed their usual pattern another ship would be attacked shortly. He called the entire crew to Action Stations and waited.
* * *
Arvolo looked at the destroyed Scout and watched his scanner. He had given the Scout twenty seconds before he destroyed it five seconds later. He waited for the other two ships and he saw a disruption indicating a ship emerging into normal space. The disruption was huge and he looked at the energy readings and said, “Holy Mother of Jesus!!!”
He hit the override on his panel, fired his main beam powered by both reactors at the disruption, launched a fusion missile and prayed that it was enough. The Giant Blue Ship appeared and the beam struck its force field and caused a huge display of sparks. After a second it opened a small hole and the fusion missile flew through just as the force field closed and a huge white beam erupted from the Giant barely missing the Havana as Arvolo darted away.
The Jukebox and Tampa appeared and the Giant Ship fired a beam that barely missed the two ships. Jillian screamed, “Get us out of here; that ship is at full power, Chris!”
Another beam flashed by as the two ships dodged in different directions and then the Giant exploded in a blast that ripped out and hit the force fields around the two Earth Ships. They were pushed more than a thousand miles away by the shock wave. The Havana was the closest ship to the blast and was shoved at tremendous force. Arvolo was stunned and shook his head to gather his senses. He heard Admiral Connor on his speaker, “What just happened?”
“I’m sorry, Sir. I overrode my system and fired on the ship.”
Arvolo waited and thought, “I’ve done it again. I didn’t wait on the others.”
Then he heard, “Admiral Anders, you will jump with us to Fleet Headquarters in New York and hold Captain Arvolo to await our decision on his actions.”
“Sir, he only….”
“Admiral, you will follow you orders. Is that clear!?!”
“Yes Sir.”
Arvolo moved the Havana into Sierra Space and followed Kenny to the Space Port in New York and surrendered to him. Kenny took out his handcuffs and said, “I’m so sorry.”
Arvolo put his hands behind his back and shook his head, “It’s not your fault, my friend. It’s not your fault.”
Kenny took Arvolo to a cell and removed the handcuffs. “Tell me why you fired before we arrived?”
Arvolo shook his head, “It was almost instinctive; I did it without thinking. The energy readings on that monster were more than twenty times higher than the ship that Admiral Connor destroyed. I knew it was only going to get stronger and I reacted. I’m sorry I didn’t follow orders.”
Kenny shook his head and said, “I’ll do what I can.”
Arvolo lowered his head and said, “I appreciate it.”
* * *
The two Alpha Agents standing guard outside the conference room saw an Alpha Colonel approaching. He was if full dress blues and his medals were on his chest. They moved forward to bar his entry and saw his expression. Then they recognized who he was. They looked at each other, saluted, and stepped aside. Kenny opened the door and entered the room. The people gathered around the table stopped what they were doing and watched him come forward. Jeff stood and said, “Is something wrong, Admiral?”
“Yes Sir, there is. I insist that you immediately release Captain Arvolo from confinement.”
Jeff looked at Dolly and turned back, “And if we don’t?”
Kenny stepped forward and put his stars on the table, “Then I hereby resign from the Navy.”
Dolly said, “Why are you doing this?”
“He saved our lives and I think all of you should know it by now. He doesn’t deserve this after all he’s been through.”
Chris looked at Kenny, “What do you mean?”
“I learned from one of his old neighbors that when he was ten years old he watched his older brother shot and beheaded by the Communists. When we landed to free the Island, the Regime took his wife as one of the hostages and killed her when we charged the building. He’s suffered enough for one lifetime.”
“How do you know this?”
“My family and I went to Cuba recently and I went to his old neighborhood and inquired about his wife. Arvolo insists that he’s afraid she will call him one day. A neighbor that knew them took me to a cemetery and showed me Maria Arvolo’s grave. He told me about what had happened. He said they tried to tell Arvolo she was dead but he refused to listen and insisted she would call him when she needed him. That is where he first acquired the Crazy Cuban tag. He doesn’t deserve this.”
Dolly stared at Kenny and saw the deep feelings he had for his friend, “There are some things you don’t know about Captain Arvolo that you should know before you have us honor your request.”
Kenny stared at Dolly and said, “What things?”
She told him.
* * *
Arvolo waited in his cell and saw an orderly open the cell door and hand him a full dress Naval Uniform. “Please put this on.”
Arvolo sighed, “And so it begins. The court-martial must be today. He dressed and waited. He heard the key in the cell door and looked up and saw Kenny in a full dress Alpha Uniform, “It’s time to go, RV.”
Arvolo stood and smiled, “I’m glad you’re here with me.”
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else.” Arvolo stood and put his hands behind his back. “I will not put you in cuffs.” Arvolo smiled and nodded his thanks.
Arvolo followed Kenny out into the hall of the huge building and walked beside him. He looked over at Kenny’s medals and said, “You were in Saudi Arabia?”
Kenny nodded, “We were only able to save the Royal Family and embassy staff before the nuke hit.”
Arvolo looked closer, “Tehran, Egypt, and Moscow as well.”
“I was busy as a youth.”
Arvolo glanced at Kenny as they continued to walk and knew those medals were the highest award given after those conflicts. Kenny was even more impressive that he thought. He stood straighter and raised his chin. It was time for him to be brave. They approached a huge door and two Alpha Agents opened the door and saluted. Kenny walked through followed by Arvolo, “You didn’t return their salute.”
“It wasn’t for me.”
Arvolo looked around and didn’t see anyone else. They moved into a massive auditorium and thousands of people stood and started clapping. Arvolo smiled and knew Kenny deserved their applause. He was a real hero. He looked ahead and saw all of the Fleet’s Admirals were lined up on the stage. He also saw Admiral Garcia’s blonde-haired wife beside him. There was Admiral Connor and his wife. He wondered why they needed such high ranking officers at a lowly Captain’s court-marshal. The crowd continued to clap and eight Marines fell in behind them. Arvolo immediately recognized them as the ones he had fought in the bar. Oh, no, witnesses. Kenny looked over and whispered, “Shoulders back.”
Arvolo stood straighter and Kenny stopped directly in front of the huge stage and went to attention. Arvolo joined him and then wondered why so many people were present. Then he looked up at the stage and saw President Suh step up to the podium. “What the…”
The huge crowd became silent and President Suh looked down at the two standing in front of the stage. “We don’t do this very often and it’s not because we don’t have those that are deserving of this moment. It’s just that the requirements for it to happen are so hard to achieve. Bravery is not enough; it’s the results of that bravery that makes one qualified.” Suh looked at Arvolo, “Captain Arvolo, it with a profoundly grateful heart that I award you the Solar Star for your actions in combat that have given Humanity more time to fight for survival. You have performed above and beyond the call of duty and a grateful planet thanks you for your actions.”
Arvolo looked over and Kenny and saw him smiling. This couldn’t be happening. He’d never been given a medal for anything except winning a spelling bee in fifth grade and now he was receiving the highest award possible. He watched as Suh walked forward and placed the ribbon around his neck. Suh went back to the podium and looked out at the crowd, “We are going to show you some of Captain Arvolo’s deeds.”
A recording of the first battle with the Blue Giant Scouts started playing and Suh said, “Captain Arvolo destroyed five of their ships and had more than six thousand of their ships attempting to capture him.”
Arvolo picked up the medal on his chest and stared at it. Kenny watched him and said “What?”
Arvolo sighed and said, “I gladly trade this medal for one of those given after the liberation of my home.”
Kenny smiled, reached into his pocket, and handed him a medal with a yellow and green ribbon, “You can have mine.”
Arvolo’s eyes grew wide and he stared at Kenny. Kenny saw the tears start and he quickly looked away so as not to embarrass his friend. Arvolo took a deep breath, held the medal tightly, and blew his breath out slowly. He straightened and saw the end of the recording where the Blue Giant Battleship exploded.
Admiral Connor came to the podium and said, “Captain Arvolo disregarded my direct orders and fired on this ship before we arrived. If he had not done so, all three of our ships would have been destroyed. He determined that the giant ship’s energy was too high to wait and took immediate action. By killing that ship so quickly, it did not have time to reveal the weakness in its power system to its Fleet. He has given us more time to prepare.” Chris looked down at Arvolo, “I thank you for saving our lives with your fast action. On behalf of all our Military Forces, we hope we can all perform as well.”
Chris looked up at the gathering and said, “Captain Arvolo now has twelve confirmed kills of Blue Giant Scouts and one Main Battleship. He is the Military’s first Space Ace and his name will honor our Fleet Headquarters. He will receive a salute from any member of the Services from this day forward regardless of rank. Chris saluted along with every other member of the Military present and Arvolo returned it. Chris smiled, “Thank you, Captain.”
The huge crowd erupted in cheers and Kenny saw RV lift his com to his ear. He said something and put his arm down. Kenny leaned in, “Who was that?”
RV looked at him, smiled, and said, “It was Maria. She said she’ll be waiting for me to come home.”
The eight Marines rushed forward and carried Arvolo away just before Kenny felt his tears. He blew out a breath and saw Dolly standing next to him, “What’s wrong?”
Kenny told her about the call. “He’s finally at peace.”
Dolly looked at Arvolo and decided something had to be done. Jeff walked up and said, “Admiral Anders, you and Captain Arvolo are being reassigned.”
“Where to, Sir?”
“You will take Captain Arvolo and report to George Sierra on Dundee to assist them in the construction of our new battleships. Captain Arvolo will command the first one completed and you will assume the overall command of the Fleet that’s being built there. Do you think the Captain should be promoted?”
Kenny looked at Arvolo smiling as he was being carried and shook his head, “He belongs on the bridge of a warship, Sir. He’s found his place in this universe.”
Jeff smiled, “I think you’re right.”
Dolly stared at the big Cuban and Jeff saw her, “What are you up to?”
“Oh nothing, Dear.”
Jeff shook his head and thought, It never is. He knew she was planning something.
Chapter Five
“W
e’re missing something Meisa.”