Alex Marcase

Well he was right. Those old scans Conner brought us -- the ones his father had been carrying around for so many years -- really did show an M-Class planet. We're here now, taking samples and running tests. So far so good, but I'm not ready to sign off on it just yet.

You know the old saying - if it looks too good to be true? Well right now, this place looks too good, know what I mean? There's got to be a snake in this garden somewhere.

Evan thinks I’m jealous.

Says that I've spent my entire career exploring the galaxy, never once happened upon a planet suitable for human colonization, then along comes this kid with some old, faded scans his dad bought off some geezer who knows how long ago, points to one planet out of precious few in this expanse of black, and gets lucky.

Well before you go making any more out of this than it is, believe me when I tell you that's all it was - luck.

Do you know the chances of finding a M-Class planet in a galaxy of millions, with the perfect blend of oxygen and nitrogen, potable water in plentiful supply, soil that can grow crops, weather patterns and temperatures humans can tolerate and a relatively low predator population?

Pretty damn slim.

The fact that we have Earth is miracle enough, but you tack on the twelve other worlds and moons humans have colonized over the centuries, and the odds of ever finding another go down significantly. I don't buy into that idea that if thirteen exist, that means they're plentiful, crap.

Not when me, my crew and countless other explorers have spent entire careers looking for them with no luck.

So the idea that this kid could come along and-- I mean, in his first try make a find like-- To think it's really that easy just makes me wanna . . .

Fuck.

All right, so I'm jealous.

Stephen Cray

Call me Stephen. I am -- rather, I was -- a grad student working on a doctorate in Planetary Biology and Life Science, before the plague changed all that. I still consider myself Professor Collins' assistant. But the university was hit with the disease while we were away, and no one's opened it back up again. I'm not sure any of the higher learning establishments are back up and running just yet.

Where you there? I was. Nick was at the University of Helios giving a guest lecture. He'd sent me to Denton City to pick up some equipment we'd ordered. It happened pretty fast. I was walking from the hotel to the warehouse and people were standing around, coughing and being ill. One minute they were going to work to start their day, the next minute they're passing out on the sidewalks and streets.

Just dropping there, like they'd been hit.

It was chaotic for a bit. Some fell ill more slowly, others were practically dying on their feet. It was happening all around me, but I was one of the lucky ones.

I was -- am -- immune.

Helios was the fifth planet to get hit by this, so by the time we understood what was happening they quarantined the whole planet. Everyone had to stay where they were, no leaving the cities. It was a death sentence for many, but it saved thousands. The University wasn't hit at all, so Nick was safe there. Those of us who were immune had to help enforce the quarantines.

Some survived. I think about ten percent of those who fell ill lived through it. And if you weren't exposed, within days of the first discovery the threat was over.

Billions died overall, if you combine the planets, but on Helios there were about three million deaths. Denton City was wiped out. When the quarantines were lifted, there were fifty three of us still alive.

I never wanted to come back here again, but we're about to land right now. Nick thought we should help the raiding party, make sure they found the equipment we needed and wanted. This is going to be our only chance to get supplies for the new planet, and if we're going to be stuck there the rest of our lives, we have to make the most of this trip.

I'm not sure how I feel about it, yet. Not the stealing, I don't mind that. There's no one left there to need this stuff. But everything's different now. Everyone's plans got changed. Everyone's lives and ideals altered.

We're all missing who we were, and slowly becoming someone else.

Conner Bishop

Oh, hey, how ya doin'? Listen, you're not gonna believe what just happened! We just had the Big Meeting -- you know, with the ship captains and everyone in charge of this mass exodus -- and Captain Marcase was there. He even shook my hand! He's not as old as I expected.

Anyway, I had these scans that my father used to carry around with him. See, back in the day, my father wanted to be an explorer, only he never got around to actually doing it. But he found these scans somewhere, I think he bought them off a guy, and all my life I remember him carrying them around. If you gave him half a chance, he'd bend your ear for hours about the unclaimed planets out in the black.

So when I heard we were all getting ready to bug outta here, but no one found a planet yet, I figured what the hell? Dad always swore there were good planets in those scans, and I was pretty sure no one had tried looking in that quadrant.

Professor Collins said I should go ahead and show Captain Marcase the scans, but Stephen didn't think I'd have the nerve. And I almost didn't. People usually think I'm too young to know what I'm talkin' about, and I've been called compulsive and maybe a little hyper by those who know me. But I figured Captain Marcase didn't know that. He only just met me, and seemed like a nice enough guy. And he actually took my scans seriously. Or, dad's scans.

Evan scared the shit outta me, though! I knew he'd be there, but I'd never met one before and man, it took all I had to keep cool about it.

Oh, but anyway, we're leaving, did I tell you? The war started, and they figure it's only a matter of time, probably hours, before Threshold is taken, so we're loading up right now. I'm a little freaked, to be honest. The Professor, Stephen and I are assigned to ride on the Ascalon, which means we have to go with that ship to Helio first to steal supplies.

Me. Planetary Biology student Conner Bishop, stealing.

And I don't mean slipping money out of some old lady's purse. We're taking equipment! Huge, friggin' machines, crates and crates of crop starters, and buildings. Friggin' buildings! I can't even figure out how this is gonna go down, loading buildings onto a ship in orbit.

I dunno if they'll have us help or not. But I guess I'll find out soon enough!

Evan

Yes, that's right, just Evan. Shaerah aren't given last names, and I've never understood why Alex thinks that's such a big deal. Of course, he thinks a lot of things are big deals, when really they aren't.

Like the first day we met. His father had faked his own death, tricking Alex into inheriting me. Until that day, he didn't know Shaerah existed, and thought genetically created slaves with unique abilities were a myth. I remember what an ass he was that first day, but I blame some of his reaction to his father's lawyer, Van Holt. That albino weasel could have handled things differently, but now I realize just what kind of man he really is.

We originally thought some crazed Keeper was behind the plagues, after we found evidence of a ship taking something alien from a world we'd just discovered. That ship left a trail that went from planet to planet, never landing, but seeding the atmosphere of each one with some kind of biological agent. President Eljandro jumped at the chance to blame the plague on a made-up Keeper / Shaerah conspiracy, and put warrants out for our arrest. After some digging, and more than a few close calls, we finally found the truth, and the evidence we needed to prove it.

It was Van Holt, carrying out the last will and testament that Maker had set in motion. Really more of a doomsday scenario, to avenge his death. And on top of it all, he had President Eljandro backing him up, giving him money and protection. She used the plague to murder the other Presidents and bring the United Worlds under her rule.

Of course, our proof only ended up starting a civil war, but that's not my concern.

Alex can be stubborn, pig-headed, obstinate, impulsive and a real jerk sometimes, but he's also intelligent, brave, honorable, and has a massive capacity for taking responsibility for things, even when he shouldn't. And he's my Keeper. I know he prefers the term "friend". I still can't make him understand how a Shaerah is fundamentally better than those he's called "friend" in the past, but that's not the only thing Alex can't seem to come to grips with, so I've learned to let it slide.

In fact, I've learned a lot of things over the years we've been together. Like how to bend light around a ship in space, giving it an almost invisible shield to both sensors and the naked eye. It's a trick that's coming in handy now that we're about to steal the Ascalon back, right under the noses of the shipyard employees and maintenance workers performing upgrades on her as we speak.

It's gonna be tricky, but not nearly as hard as keeping Alex from doing something stupid.

Again.

Alex Marcase

Yeah, that's me, Alex Marcase, Captain of the Class-A Warship Defiant. But you can add Captain of the exploration vessel Ascalon, if my plan works. Admiral Rickover double-crossed me when he gave me the Defiant and took my ship for refitting and transport. He swore I could have her back when this mess was through, only we all know this mess ain't ever gonna be through.

Okay, maybe you don't know how Evan and I finally managed, with some outside help, to rectify that whole plague-caused-by-aliens issue. President Eljandro was behind it all, and -- while I say this reluctantly -- we were able to prove it thanks to Paulson Carpenter.

That's a matter for another day's topic, though. Today I'm planning a recovery Op -- some might call it theft -- to get my ship back. Sure, the Defiant is really something. Having a war ship again gives me a little peace of mind in these trouble times. She's small and easy to manage with my reduced crew.

But like I said, times have changed.

I need the Ascalon back for her size and capacity. See, there's a group out here -- a few thousand strong already and potentially growing by the day -- who need transportation to a new colony. That is, once I find us a suitable planet. The war's about to start, everyone's either taking sides or beatin' feet out of the way, and that's where I come in. I volunteered, idiot that I can be sometimes, to find these people a planet far from the reaches of President Eljandro and Admiral Grant. A place they can colonize and make their own, without fear of civil war or the trappings of society, such as it's become.

But to transport that many people, plus the supplies they'll need to start a new world and survive there requires a bigger ship.

So I'm stealing the Ascalon back.

Sure, she's not much to look at. Huge, bulky, and that yellow outer hull color wasn't my choice. But in space, size and shape don't matter one little bit. Capacity and design are king, and she's a beauty in those departments. I can fit enough equipment in her first three holds to outfit a small army, then stuff enough food, fresh water and crop-starters in the other four to keep them alive for more than a year in even the most inhospitable conditions.

Plus, she's mine. I held the lease on her for so many years, and she kept me alive in the black for a long while. Then just when I had her paid for, along came Admiral Rickover and his deal.

Or should I say Rickover and his double-cross? I'm pretty sure he and the president had their plan set in motion even before he found me out there in the nebula and brought me up to speed. Using Evan and I to track down the real culprit was probably their plan all along, but that part, I can't prove. And I don't care anymore. We got done what we had to get done. Maybe that put this civil war in motion a little sooner, but it was going to happen anyway.

Truth be told, this all started with Maker. That little shit had a doomsday scenario all planned out after all, and his weasel Van Holt carried it out.

But that's a long story, and right now, I gotta run. We just got a lead on the Ascalon, and I'll be damned if I'm letting her go a second time!