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.

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!