Eye of the Storm

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

“Hey, Commodore,” Mike said as he and Michelle apparated in the CIC of the Lex.

“General O’Neal?” Ronnie said, looking around. “Where… ?”

“Long story,” Mike replied. “Just be here a moment.”

He looked over at Michelle who was looking very pale.

“You okay, Shelly?”

“You haven’t called me that since I was a kid,” Michelle answered. “And, no, the answer is, I’m not okay. We’re not okay. Kang has the Imeg back on the Des Moines.”

“Good news,” Mike said.

“No, bad news,” Michelle said, rubbing her forehead. “DAG was nearly wiped out doing it. Many of them by the Imeg. They’re much stronger than we thought. Stronger than we could have believed. He’s transferring the information across the mentats. But the force we have here… If we can keep them from destroying the ships, the SS, we’ll be lucky.”

“Commodore, discontinue support missions and get your ships out of the system,” Mike said, instantly. “Contact Admiral Chun and add that order for his ships. Use remaining antimatter, all of it, to make max jumps towards the warp entry point then get the hell out.”

“The Hedren are bound to send reinforcements… ” Ronnie replied.

“Understood,” Mike said. “You’ll be back. But you need to come back fueled and with sohon supports. Michelle, get all available mentats to base Delta X-Ray. And we need to go join the SS.”

“Yes, Father,” Michelle said, nodding. Then she winced. “The Imeg are up. This is not going to be good.”

“Honey, being on the wrong side of a Posleen tenaral charge ain’t good,” Mike said, placing his hand on her shoulder. “This here’s a walk in the park. Let’s roll.”

Gamalsarad, Emperor (Elect) of the Tular Po’oslenar, considered the message. It had been sent across nearly a thousand light-years, through dead star systems and the ley-lines of black-holes, following the sinuous Hidden Path.

But it was a message the Tular had awaited for a very long time.

“Prepare the Fleet,” he growled, his crest lifting as combat hormones flooded his body. “The time has come to Return.”

“Destination, Emperor?” his aide asked.

“Earth.”