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 Chapter 8: A new beginning

   David Jenkins sat at the desk to the cabin he was using as his makeshift
office.  The room was small, but it was the closest room to the bridge that
had the facilities he needed, mainly a desk and a few chairs.  He could
have commandeered the captain's ready room directly off the bridge, but he
felt that should be left for Spaz.  The chime sounded as he sat there
studying the screen.  "Enter."

   A man in his mid twenties and an older teen entered the room followed by
Dr.  Jones and Colonel Jimenez.  David stood up as the two men entered the
room and extended his hand to the oldest.  "Mr.  Rayne, I am David
Jenkins." He said.

   Josh Rayne looked down at David's hand and then back up at David without
taking it.  David frowned at him, then lowered his hand and motioned for
them to take the two chairs in front of his desk.  "Please have a seat, we
have much to discuss," he said as he took his seat with the earth-scape
showing through the window behind him.  The younger man started to take a
seat, but stopped when Josh motioned for him to remain standing.  Josh
stood in front of David's desk and glared at him in silence while the
younger man looked embarrassed and confused.  "Have it your way." David
stated as he typed on the console in front of him.  "You are Josh Rayne and
Eleric Drakehold, citizens of Australia.  Your known associates are Elise
Drakehold, Eleric's younger sister, along with Zoe and Luke Long.  Neither
one of you have any criminal records, actually, other than your birth and
record of your association with the Longs, none of you have any records
whatsoever; no employment, income or anything else.  Your group has done a
very good job of staying almost completely off the radar."

   Josh stiffened slightly at the mention of the Longs, but other than that
showed no outside signs of any emotional reaction.  Eleric shot a quick
glance at his mentor before straightening up and staring straight ahead. 
"We seem to be at an impasse gentlemen.  You see, I have no knowledge of
whether I can trust the two of you, especially after that impressive
display this morning.  I have no idea how you managed to get out of the
stasis chamber.  That is one of several things I wish to discuss, along
with..." David said as he motioned to a display lighting up on the wall to
his right.

   The screen showed an area near Oodnadatta, Australia.  A metal ramp
could be seen on the left side of the screen.  Three humanoid figures
descended the ramp; they wore what appeared to be green environmental body
armor complete with an opaque face shield and breathing masks.  The lead
figure was slightly taller than the other two.  The smaller two walked with
a feminine grace and held some sort of sensor device in front of them.  The
smallest of the three also carried what appeared to be a gun in her right
hand and was looking around for threats.  Suddenly the larger of the two
females stopped and pointed her device to her left.

   The leader of the trio drew a weapon from his side as the smaller female
crouched down and pointed her weapon in the direction the other was
pointing.  "Whoever you are, step out from behind the rubble with your
hands up," the leader stated, his voice distorted and mechanical sounding.

   The larger female suddenly turned around and grabbed for her gun as a
portal opened behind them.  "Biometric energy reading behind us sir, it's a
trap." She yelled as bolts of energy shot through the portal and struck the
lead figure.

   As the lead figure went down covered in electrical energy, a man emerged
from the portal followed by a young female.  The female let loose with a
blast of energy at the smaller of the figures in body armor.

   Three youths emerged from behind a pile of rubble and moved out across
the clearing towards the portal as the two new arrivals provided cover
fire. The taller female of the armored group fired her weapon at the leader
of the group emerging from the portal.  The beam flashed off an energy
shield and dissipated in the air, but the impact caused the man to stagger
back, and broke his concentration of energy on the leader of the original
trio.

   The screen froze, clearly displaying Josh's face as one of the duo that
came from the portal as well as that of Eleric as one of the three youths
running for the portal.  David turned from the screen and looked at Josh
and Eleric.  "So, would either one of you care to explain why you attacked
me and my away team at Oodnadatta, and why I should not have you both
executed as enemies against humanity?"

   Eleric paled as he looked towards Josh who simply lifted his head
slightly in defiance to David.  David shook his head as he came around the
desk to stand in front of Josh.  "This defiance and stubborn refusal to
talk was interesting at first, even a little humorous, but now it is
getting annoying.  All that you are doing is signing your and your young
friend's death warrant.  By your actions, both now and at Oodnadatta, the
only conclusion I can come to is that you are in collusion with the
Morgalons," David said as an image of the Morgalon who attacked the town
replaced the image of Josh and Eleric on the screen.  "We are in a state of
war with these creatures and anyone who helps them is a traitor to
humanity."

   Eleric quickly glanced at the creature on the screen and then at Josh.
Josh slowly turned to look at the screen and then down at a terrified
Eleric.  "We are not working for that thing." Josh replied.  "I attacked
you at Oodnadatta because you were threatening my charges.  I have no Idea
what a Morgalon is, but that thing looks very much like a Shadow Lord and I
would have died trying to kill it if I ever saw it, as would any member of
my circle."

   David sat on the edge of the desk and crossed his hands.  "So you can
talk?  Good, care to explain how you got out of the stasis chamber?"

   "I do not know what a stasis chamber is, but if you are referring to the
place I awoke my abilities allow me to control my body in all ways, even to
overcome the effects of that device.  I did not like what it was trying to
do so I got out of it," Josh replied as he turned to glare at David.  "You
kidnapped me and my student, so it was only prudent that we tried to escape
your capture."

   David laughed "We did not kidnap you, we saved your lives.  The two of
you got caught up in a program that we were running to save people who
would have otherwise died.  We are also on the lookout for people trying to
save others, or doing heroic acts.  According to our records you two were
trying to rescue some teens from a car wreck when the car fell off a cliff
into the ocean.  If we had not interfered, you two and the four teens would
be dead and at the bottom of the Coral Sea."

   Eleric's head jerked from the screen towards David.  "The boys in the
car?"

   "Are safe, they are in stasis chambers awaiting training." David
replied.

   "Training, you mean re-education?" Josh growled.

   David shook his head and rose from the edge of the desk.  "No I mean
training.  When the time comes for us to talk to them they will be woken
from their suspended sleep and then we will explain everything that is
going on to them.  They will then have the option of joining us and
receiving training here to assist us or to return to the stasis chamber to
sleep until we can safely return them to their lives."

   "And how long will that be?" Josh asked.

   "That we do not know.  However long we will have to hide ourselves from
the Morgalons and the governments below.  Once we are strong enough and our
vessels repaired, then we will be able to return those who do not wish to
join us back to their families and home." David replied as he returned to
his seat behind the desk.  "So if you do not work for the Morgalons, then
why is it our sensors detect the energy signature of your abilities to be
the same as the Morgalons?"

   As David asked his question the screen once again changed to show two
almost identical energy signatures.  Josh looked at the screen and then
back to David.  "I know nothing of these energy signatures..."

   "You do not seem to know very much about anything do you?" David
interrupted "So far all you have supplied me with are mysterious replies to
my questions or proclamations about your lack of knowledge.  I find it
quite disturbing that someone who can do the things you can do has such a
lack of knowledge on the things you do."

   Josh glared at David from across the desk.  "I know what I know, I do
not know what I do not know.  Ask me questions I can answer and I will if I
can.  Continue to ask me questions on things I don't know the answer to and
I'll continue to tell you to tell you I don't know."

   David leaned forward and cupped his hands in front of him.  "Well then,
have a seat and let's get started."

   ...

   Captain Walker walked into the briefing room and took his place behind
the podium.  The men and women filling the room came to a hush as he walked
in and all the lights in the room dimmed except the one centered on the
podium and Captain Walker.  He looked out at the crowded briefing room with
a sigh.  This was not his first briefing and it was defiantly not his
largest group, but he knew it would be his most challenging.  All of the
men and women in this room had prior military experience; some were retired
Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers from all over the world.  Each one
was rescued some time within the last month by the Excalibur and its
program, snatched from where they were either in the process of saving
someone else, or were one of the people being saved.  "Ladies and
gentlemen, I am Captain Walker and you are here today because the world has
need of your services," he said as a video of the attacks on Oodnadatta and
the hospital in Northern California began playing on the screen behind him.
"What you see on the screen is not fictional, it actually happened.  Over
sixty people died in the attack on the hospital and almost three hundred
died in the attack on the town of Oodnadatta, Australia."

   Spaz continued with his lecture and each member of the audience heard
him speaking in their native language, thanks to the translation modules in
their ears.  He told them of the Morgalons, and the threat they posed to
earth.  Of the three ships currently in orbit and the work that was needed
to repair them.  He told them of the positions available and the need for
experienced Officers and Senior Enlisted personnel to lead the thousands of
recruits they had received over the last month, most of them with zero
military experience.  The men and women listened to everything, shaking
their heads and mumbling to themselves at first, but by the end they were
all nodding and listening intently.  A few looked around the room assessing
the people around them.

   As Spaz completed his briefing, displays rose from the seats next to
each person.  "On the screens next to each of you is a list of your
assignments.  We know all of your records, and military service and some of
you may find yourselves in a position that holds lower rank than you had
previously and some of you may find yourselves in positions of higher rank.
Let it be known that your skills have been assessed and that you will be
used to the fullest of your abilities.  If you wish to discuss your
assignments with our Commander in Chief, then please log your complaints
through your new Chain of Command.  You have all been assigned quarters and
you will be met outside this room by a member of the crew who will guide
you to your room and assist you with your training chambers.  These
chambers will teach you what you will need to know to perform your new
functions, including the Earth Defense Force Rank structure and the
language both written and spoken that you will need to know to operate the
controls of the ships.  Thank you for your time, as your display lights up
please exit the door to your right." When Spaz completed his briefing the
lights came back up in the room and he exited out the door he had come in,
not leaving anyone in the room a chance to ask any questions.

   As Spaz exited the briefing room, Captain Emtoo meet him in the hall and
walked beside him.  She could hear the raised voices on the other side of
the door as it closed.  "Sounds like things did not go well in there." She
said with a frown, belying the grin in her voice.

   Spaz glanced down at her, with her golden blond hair and Shirley Temple
locks surrounding a pixie face.  He knew that the ruckus rising in the
briefing room was nothing compared to the reaction some of those men or
women will have when they realize that this woman was superior to any of
them in rank.  She looked no older than thirteen or fourteen years old,
however her eyes, speech patterns, and mannerisms gave her a maturity
beyond her youthful appearance.  Yes, he definitely did not want to be in
the room when those officers first encountered Captain Emtoo.  "I did not
give them a chance to argue.  However I do feel for the security rep who
has to escort them to their rooms.  Several of them were Generals or
Colonels, and there is even one former Admiral.  Now none of them will be
any higher in rank than a Lieutenant Colonel.  A few of the officers are
now senior enlisted and some of the former enlisted are now officers. 
David will have his work cut out for him working with that lot." "I am sure
David will be able to handle it, he has a way with people," she said as
they entered a lift.

   "How go the repairs on the Lanvy and Riu?" Spaz asked as he pressed the
console to indicate their destination.

   "They go well.  We have about a thousand people working on the Lanvy and
another four hundred on the Riu.  She is less damaged so she should be up
and running soon.  Colonel Jimenez says the Riu should only be a day or two
before she will be ready to man.  She is doing a good job running the Riu's
Crew and Lt.  Colonel Carter and Major Casey are doing well with the Lanvy,
having the crew of the Chinook take over command of the repair details was
an excellent decision."

   "I thought it would be.  They were already used to working together and
they were our first military recruits; it only made sense to give them the
command.  I was, however, surprised with how well the interpreters and
reporters fell into working with the communications equipment and setting
up the training details," Spaz replied as the two entered onto the bridge
of the Excalibur.  Both stopped short when an explosion rocked the ship and
the sound of emergency claxons filled the bridge.