Adventures of Space Cadets 101: Weddings. Darryl Dean Wright
the guilt like a pain now sharper than any blade was piercing his guts. He thought that the only cure for war was peace, and if he did not end the war then, the President was sure to kill all his innocent hostages, which were now Austen's next priority.
His second guessing and questioning of so much loss of life would keep him up at night, but he was sure that his brother would have done the same thing, because Earth Defense was in the process of trying to destroy Deana's ship when he entered the solar system. He hated Galactic politics, but nine hundred kilometers below him the President's illicit orders and guerrilla interdictions had to be stop. He was glad that Derek had not had to give the order because he was sure he was stronger than his little brother was.
When Austen was notified that it was over and done with, he asked the Turtle to reactivate the nanites. Now all of the installations were back to operational and all of the ships were whole again. There were ED personnel alive at the installations and on the ships, but they had been decimated by Austen via the Turtle.
Austen saw the Turtle's four ships coming his way, so he told the Turtle to let them in. He also saw they each had significant damage, and he knew they were definitely running out of time.
Deana came on the bridges screen and said, "We are so glad to see you guys. We were getting a little worried. All our ships have damage and need some patch work, but I'm glad to report no casualties."
Austen said, "Job well done, Captain, and welcome home." He was so glad to see her.
Deana said, "Well we had help. It will be in my report. Is Derek sleeping?" Austen said he was interested in her report and that Derek was sleeping. Deana said, "Not for long, and it's good to be home, Sir." She gave orders to shut down her ship in repose at the Q-hangar bay.
During the next shift, Earth was surrounded by almost every ship the Turtle could send out including most of the Caprices and JR's fleet. Derek asked the President once again to step down, but President Paul refused to. He refused even to believe that all ED space craft had been shut down. He ordered the Air Force to engage the alien ships, but Admiral Moore would not give the order because he remembered what happened the last time the Houstons and their advanced ship took on Earth.
The President said, "I'll do it myself!" He was fed up with his underlings and their fright.
Derek was letting everybody in the President's room know about their chief's order that sent ED to kill over one thousand and eight hundred people on the defense platform. He told them about the unlawful order that sent twenty-eight people to their deaths on the planet Kess as they tried to assassinate the Houstons. And then he told them all that the President had started the illegal war even knowing the power of the Turtle. He went on to say, "He shut down our company on Earth and froze our accounts, and illegally arrested the families of our crew. Overall, he is just a bad man!"
Just then, a Nano-JR beamed in behind the President and shot him in the back of the head. The general in the room tried to jump JR but now lay unconscious on the floor. N-JR put his hands in the air but he didn't drop his sidearm. He had a piece of paper in his other hand for everyone else there to sign.
Derek said, "My brother is holding the paper for Earth's unconditional surrender. You will let the vice-president take over the job of speaking for Earth after you let our company, finances, and families go free, or we will rain hell-fire all over Earth."
Admiral Moore said, "We will sign your armistice cease fire, but you are causing riots all over Earth with all your alien ships hovering everywhere in our atmosphere."
Derek said, "Have everyone in the room sign it and then have Mrs. Johnson, the new President sign the accordance. Once we beam our brother back onboard, we will start to collect our fleet. By the way, due to blind orders and all, we will be taking over Earth Defense. That is, our company, which ED will pay one hundred trillion dollars to for illegally shutting us down, because we have share-holders to answer to. From now on we will make the decisions for our Solar System."
Everybody in the room agreed to Derek's terms, and truth be told, they were glad the President was being replaced.
Deana's mother begged her daughter to come back home, but Deana refused. She also told her mother that she was finally engaged with Derek Houston, and her mom was happy for her.
Derek, Austen and JR talked to their mother too. Derek said he was engaged and his mother knew who he was talking about. She said that it was about time and she was mad at him for taking so long. Austen said that he was engaged also. His mother hadn't met his fiancé yet, and they didn't have time to meet just yet because they were very busy right then.
After all of the Turtle's ships were back at home, Austen and Derek asked JR what he was going to do now. JR said, "What? Are you kidding? I've just been promoted to admiral of the fleet. There are a lot of survivors to rescue. I'll need my fleet full of Nano-droids and Caprices, and I can save all the ones trapped in the new space-graveyard that Austen created.
Austen said, "That's great and no problem. Just stay away from Mercury."
JR said, "Like you needed to say that. Who knows, I might be President by the time you idiots show back up." JR was wearing a homicidal gleam on his dark complexion.
Derek said, "I've seen a lot of scary things, but that really frightens me."
JR hit him in his arm and said, "I want to see my nephews before you all leave."
Nick came up on the Houstons and said, "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, Bros., but I wouldn't mind being an admiral too." He was leaning conspiratorially close listening in. This was his big break and he was not about to let it just pass him by.
Derek and Austen said, "Sure, we'll miss you. Don't do anything we wouldn't do."
JR, who knew Nick, smiled and said, "Sure thing but you work for me, OK?"
Nick said, "That's fine with me. You don't have as many rules as the Turtle has."
Chapter 11
BACK TO TAURI
In the Bermuda Triangle, under water on a UFO saucer shaped craft, on a Centurion's bridge, one Centurion was using telepathy to tell another Centurion, "Looks like we lost another one." He stepped over the dying Centurion who was, until recently, linked to the late President of ED. It was dying now that the President was dead since it was still hooked up to its counterpart.
Earth was still going crazy after seeing all of the alien space craft flying around, but the Turtle did collect all of its children except for Nick's ship.
Right then Nick, JR, Austen and Derek were hiding in the Q-forest getting high smoking a big blunt. Derek handed it to Austen and started coughing. Austen was taking a hit as JR explained to Nick, "Yeah, our ships have beaming technology, so if we need weapons or drugs, we just lock onto what-ever on Earth and beam it up." Austen was coughing now.
Nick asked, "Can I personally beam down?"
Austen choked and said, "Nope. No human or organic can be beamed so we use Nano-droids." Then he looked at JR and said, "Which means you can't beam any drugs up to your ship." Nick already knew all about the Nano-droids; he had quite a few on his ship. Apparently JR had found a way around this restriction, though, because he was never without.
Austen choked and said, "I talked to Mary. She's come out of hiding and she says she's fine." The other three were nodding their heads grateful for that news. Mary was the only one who had managed to avoid ED's capture.
That night after the good-byes to Nick and JR, Derek asked the Turtle to fold space and take them back to Tauri. The Turtle said, "Copy that, Admiral." They were now headed to Tauri at best speed.
Leo was in the hallway looking out the window as Derek and Deana were walking by. Derek asked, "What are you doing, Leo?"
The couple let go of each other and went to the window by the Leonsian's right, putting Derek in the center of the three. Leo asked, "Just look out there, Sirs. Have you ever seen stars like that?"
Derek reached up with his left hand and put it on Leo's right shoulder.