The wormhole suddenly collapsed, taking the frigate with it. Allison winced.

  “I would not want to be those guys. Bit send LSR friend or foe for the ship. I don’t want the fleet firing on us when we enter Eden prime space. Let’s hope whatever monitoring devices they had on this thing were external and not inside. I guess we’ll figure it out in… five or six years.”

  Allison looked at the actual navigation controls. There were some that even dumbed down she didn’t quite understand. The FTL navigation controls were a bit too dumbed down for her. It was like someone did a color by numbers, only made it to control a starship. She was in the middle of poking around when half of the Eden prime defense force appeared, led by the Ark Royal. Allison shook her head. She just kept running into that ship. She easily figured out how to answer the comm signal. It was a button labeled talk. The other said no-talk.

  The captain of the Ark Royal appeared on screen. She looked surprised to see Allison in her summer school uniform.

  “Uh, Shadow One?”

  Allison smiled.

  “No, just Ms. Wanjala, or Allison, how can I help you, Captain?”

  The captain raised an eyebrow.

  “You can put down your shields and allow us to land a boarding party.”

  Allison saw some text start scrolling across her screen, it was the laws for salvage in unexplored and uncontrolled systems for corporations. Allison smiled.

  “I am afraid you don’t have any jurisdiction for that Captain. According to the laws regarding salvage from unexplored systems, this ship and anything on board is the property of my corporation… what is our corporation called Bit?”

  Bit interjected.

  “Bit and Allison’s Salvage, Inc, Allison.”

  Allison blinked a few times.

  “Really, your name first?”

  Bit sounded a bit amused.

  “Well, I am the brains of the operation.”

  The captain did not look amused.

  “Lieutenant, you’ve had your fun.”

  Allison shook her head.

  “I respect you, Captain, but if you check the System’s Alliance corporate registrar, you’ll see that my corporation is a legal entity and it’s headquartered on Eden Prime. So long as I pay all appropriate fees for an orbital berth and follow all appropriate laws the System’s Alliance military has no authority over this ship or me as an officer of said corporation. Also, it’s under LSR flag so, as a non-member of the System’s Alliance military, and an active member of the LSR’s defense forces you really have no power over me at all. They recognize me as the equivalent of a fleet admiral. So, if I wanted to be a stickler by our treaty you should be referring to me as ma’am. But I’m not. I am sure System’s Alliance command, and the board can make a case otherwise but that is for the courts to decide.”

  The captain looked annoyed, but her xo spoke to her quietly, her face became quite stoic.

  “I see, well, then, you are of course aware of restrictions regarding armed ships under corporate control.”

  Allison nodded.

  “Of course, only defensive weapons are allowed. I have removed power from all other weapons besides the phalanx defense system. I also am aware that we are required to submit to a scan to confirm that. However, you should be aware that beyond scanning for active weapons, you are not allowed to keep or transmit any of this data and disclosing what your science officer finds to anyone outside my corporation could result in legal action.”

  The captain looked annoyed.

  “Fine, you made your point. Go. You know wormhole transit zones are to be exited with all due haste.”

  Allison nodded and hurried to plot an FTL course, several minutes later her exit from FTL was greeted by both a System’s Alliance Fleet and an LSR fleet. The LSR Fleet was six ships, one of which was a battleship. It represented about ten percent of the LSR’s modern fleet. She just let the LSR flag on the ship’s new registry speak for itself and slipped it into formation with the LSR fleet which was holding position just outside the moon’s orbit. Shortly after she pulled up a green scaled Silwrath Eminence appeared on her screen. He was male and had a metal patch riveted over his left eye. One of his wings looked beat up. He slammed his fist to his chest.

  “Battlelord. Spoils from your latest victory?”

  Allison smiled.

  “Something like that. Please send a science team over with a stasis unit. I need an autopsy and DNA test done on some deceased aliens. They shouldn’t touch anything else. This ship has some autonomous behavior, it is best we don’t poke it until I understand more. Please make sure the DNA test and reference against known species is given top priority.”

  He slammed his fist to his chest.

  “As you say, Battlelord.”

  *****

  Allison was still familiarizing herself with the ship’s control systems, the science team had long since come and gone when she received the comm she’d been expecting for at least an hour. It was showing Maria but she had a good bet her sister was also on the call. She had figured out how to link her holo-phone to the ships’ comm system. It had been easier than she thought. She put it up on the main screen and kept looking over the data Bit was providing her from the ship’s computer on her AR HUD.

  “I’m not talking to you Aunt Maria.”

  Eyre’s face was side by side with Maria’s. Her sister looked displeased with Allison’s tone.

  “You should show your aunt more respect.”

  Allison looked at Eyre.

  “Or what, you’ll ground me? Take away my pilot’s license? Oh, I know you’ll make up some stuff to get me a medical suspension from the military. That’ll teach me… oh wait, you already did all that and all I did was save a fleet and millions of lives! I’m busy. Call someone who cares.”

  Eyre glared at Maria’s image.

  “Yes, our Aunt Maria may have overreacted, but you needed time. We’re here to discuss the ship you recovered.”

  Allison looked at Eyre.

  “I don’t need to discuss it. It is legal salvage, and I’m no longer bound by the military agreements to return it to the System’s Alliance, and it is legally owned by a corporation, which I work for. You want to talk about it, talk to my corporation’s lawyer.”

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  Eyre frowned.

  “I am your lawyer.”

  Allison narrowed her eyes.

  “That can change.”

  Eyre gave Allison a look. Maria’s mood was hard to determine. She hadn’t spoken yet. Allison was already regretting her attitude. When she was quiet, she was at her angriest. Eyre wasn’t one to backdown from a mouthy teenage girl.

  “Mistakes were made on all sides, but that doesn’t mean you can be a mouthy little snot. What are your plans for that ship?”

  Allison tugged on her school uniform collar but kept down the road she’d started to walk.

  “I haven’t decided if it is going to be my flagship or if I’m going to reverse engineer the tech and sell it, either way it’s up to me and no one else has a say in it. Whatever it is, the LSR will have access once I decide it’s safe. I’m still thinking about the System’s Alliance. After the military tried to get my mom killed, took everything I care about, let Mary die because of some stupid laws. Tried to get me married off to some foreign prince. I’m pretty sure I don’t want to go back to taking orders since I have my own fleet now.”

  Maria flinched when Allison mentioned her mother almost dying. Allison quirked her head to the side. Of all things why did her aunt react to that? She wouldn’t have known about it, maybe it was the guilt of a leader who thought she should have realized what was going on under her nose. Eyre looked like she was going to respond but lowered her finger and hand when Maria gave her a look. Maria looked back at Allison.

  “You have some valid criticisms and if you want out of your military contract by the end of this conversation your personal armor and weapons will be returned to you and your contract will be closed out. All I ask is that you hear me out.”

  Allison blinked a few times. Her Aunt sounded… sad.

  “I was trying to help you, but I just made things worse. I understand that now. The ship is yours and the Board and any other corporations that want access or scans will need to follow proper legal procedure or will face corporate espionage charges. If you find that you, or your LSR partners cannot sufficiently understand the technology, the System’s Alliance also offers its partnership in researching the ship. I have in my hand a presidential executive order offering you the rank of Battlelord within the System’s Alliance Military, you will report directly to myself and exist above and outside of the standard chain of command. The position comes with a pay raise, and limited autonomy. You may be called on to assist in defense of our planets, however, you may also decline if other matters need your attention. You will be the hand of the LSR Primarch and myself. By unilateral agreement you are our representative on the battlefield until such time as the Sal’nash threat has been handled. Due to the nature of your assignment and rank, you are authorized to use any and all means necessary to bring the Sal’nash threat to an end, including breaking System’s Alliance and LSR laws. A second order, mirrored by one written by the LSR high council revokes any and all rights the Sal’nash may have as sentient beings.”

  Eyre had apparently been left out of the loop because she was just staring at Maria, her eyes growing wider with every word out of their aunt’s mouth. Allison stared at the screen in disbelief. It started to dawn on the teenager how desperate the System’s Alliance and League of Sentient Races truly were, she’d just been unleashed. No one to answer to, unprecedented resources. All she had to do was sign on the dotted line. Maria had barely finished when Allison responded.

  “I’m in.”

  *****

  Maria only had about fifteen minutes of peace before Eyre showed up in her office. She glanced up at her niece who had likely ignored all manner of laws and security protocols to reach New Amazon from NAFTA in a quarter of an hour. Eyre didn’t waste any time starting the conversation either.

  “What the actual fuck are you thinking? She hasn’t recovered from Ratoa yet! Now you basically remove all barriers she has?”

  Maria put down the tablet she was working on.

  “All I did was remove the threat of prosecution for doing things she would do anyway.”

  Eyre leaned on Maria’s desk.

  “What did she do?”

  Maria sighed.

  “She made a nanotech bioweapon against the Sal’nash and deployed it on the Super-Hive that attacked Ratoa. She has another warhead stashed away. Eyre, I tried it your way, now I am listening to your mother’s advice, like I should have in the first place.”

  Eyre just stared at Maria for several moments.

  “How bad?”

  Maria shook her head.

  “You do not want to know.”

  Eyre leaned closer.

  “I definitely do want to know.”

  Maria sighed.

  “Based on the data from her Super-Hive attack, if she launched the weapon at a planet… she would wipe out all organic matter in a matter of hours.”

  Eyre shook her head.

  “Impossible.”

  Maria frowned.

  “The math does not lie. They reproduce rapidly, it starts slow but once they infect something it spreads out in a sphere with greater than exponential growth. Based on my math, for every cell they devour they make four nanites, it takes milliseconds. Eyre, there are in the order of thirty-six trillion cells in the human body. One infected human equals four times that amount of nanites. It takes only one nanite to infect something. One warhead contains thousands of nanites. Some might not find a target but if even one finds something organic… all life on a planet gone in hours. There is a reason Amee refused to even consider it, even against the Silwrath.”

  Eyre collapsed into one of Maria’s office chairs.

  “You’re saying she has one of those out there still? Why on Earth would you even consider removing any barriers to its use?”

  Maria sighed.

  “Because there is a reason no one has been able to beat the Sal’nash before, and it is that they refused to go there. Your mother would use that kind of weapon without a second thought.”

  Eyre grabbed the edges of Maria’s desk and pulled herself more upright.

  “Allison is hurting and she is going to hurt back.”

  Maria nodded.

  “That is exactly what your mother would do and at the moment, we’re on the back foot. We have no defense against them, our technology is useless. We need your mother. We do not have your mother, which is why your mother left the instructions she did for Allison. She is your mother’s daughter, whether we want her to be or not. She has a mind for asymmetric warfare, just like your mother and that is what will win the war with the Sal’nash. If you think I am happy about any of this, I am not, but remember you put me in this position, I did not choose it. I have to live with whatever my niece becomes, not you. So, save your lectures for someone younger than you. I know what I have done, and I am just sorry I caused her unnecessary suffering by not doing it sooner. I love you but for someone who is almost two thousand years old, you can be very na?ve.”

  Eyre stared at Maria for several moments. She had the look of someone who had just been slapped. Finally, she responded.

  “Do you even care about her? Is she just a means to an end? A weapon to be pointed at a target?”

  Maria frowned.

  “I love her as much as I love you, but you put me in a position where I had to weigh my love for her against the lives of eight hundred million humans and trillions upon trillions of sentient lives. It must be easy for you to sit on your high horse judging me for doing the job you refused outright. Leaders do not get to put their loved ones ahead of their people. The need of the many outweighs the needs of the few. It is a cliché but it is also a universal truth. Approve or do not, you put me here, so you share the blame.”

  Eyre stood up swiftly.

  “If this is about the ship we can get ahold of it, there is precedence.”

  Maria stood up and met Eyre’s gaze.

  “Eyre, your mother told me to do what I did before Ratoa! If I had Allison’s grandfather would still be alive! She sent another message yesterday just after I got off a call with the Grand Eminence telling me she knew I would not do what was best for Allison because you would tell me differently and I would listen to you, that the ship was of no significance to us, but it would be for her, eventually so you do what you think is best, I am going to do what the tablet she left me says from now on. I do not like how it ends when I do not.”

  Eyre shook her head.

  “No, you cannot know that. Mom said there are things that are involatile in time that cannot be changed. His death would be one of those things. Just like Miko’s. Anyone attached to my mother.”

  Maria kept meeting Eyre’s gaze.

  “We cannot know that.”

  Eyre gasped suddenly.

  “You said any means, do you think she might try to time travel? She knows about Project Stargate.”

  Maria waved her hand dismissively.

  “If she time travels again, it has already happened, and it is just closing a causality loop. It seems like Enid closed the loopholes.”

  Eyre rubbed her face.

  “This goes against everything I thought we both believed in, family first.”

  Maria looked up at Eyre.

  “Eyre, when your grandfather was preparing us to take over from him, he told Enid, Lucius, Lysander and I that our people come first, then our family. I wish he was here to navigate this mess. Of course, his rule number one was that a vampire should never be the guiding force for humanity and here we are. We have a responsibility to the System’s Alliance first. Then to our family. Allison is the right person for this job. I wish she was older, but we did not start this, a sub-light colony ship crashing into a rogue planet is to blame for it, the only thing Enid did was give us a fighting chance.”