GENESIS - THE BEGINNING. Book 1

CHAPTER 9 ... Peace Accord

A squadron of twenty-five brand new, and extremely advanced Bulldog fighters, were parked side by side in the battleship New Age's deployment bay. Their fighter crews discussing the mission objectives and arguing good-naturedly over trivialities. They had all been handpicked. Volunteers all. The best of the best. From all walks of life. A farmers son. A thief. A cat burglar. A high ranking government official's daughter. All exceptional. They outflew and outfought like no other. Their crafts an extension of their limbs.

The tension in the air was palpable. The same tension of excitement combined with fear before engaging the enemy. A fluttering of the stomach. Heightened eyesight and smell. Testosterone. A simple clicking of the tongue would lead to a brawl. Some sat and stared silently at the New Age's bulkheads. Some slept. Some prayed for the first time in their lives.

A warbling siren cut through all the soft chatter and startled every person throughout the New Age into sudden, mind numbing attention.

YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE.

YOUR ATTENTION.

DECELERATION WILL BE COMPLETE IN FIFTEEN MINUTES.

ALL FLIGHT AND GUN CREWS ARE TO REPORT TO THEIR STATIONS.

ALL CREWS TO YOUR STATIONS.

CAPTAIN O' RYAN TO THE BRIDGE.

CAPTAIN O' RYAN TO THE BRIDGE.

"It's that time again when we all have to justify our salary. Get those 'dogs' warmed up and be ready," Billy said. "I want you all prepared for immediate enemy action and I repeat what I said previously: Do not return fire unless you have no other choice. Takeover Lieutenant," he said to Mike, "I'll be back shortly."

"You heard the man you mothers, why the heck are you standing about dawdling like a bunch of girly flies around a heap of excrement?" she shouted. "Move it!"

She darted down the deployment bay towards her own fighter craft.

Minutes later, all twenty-five fighters swarmed about their mother ship like angry hornets looking for a fight.

"This is it people," Billy said into his microphone. "I want as much chatter as possible. Talk your heads off and hope the enemy hears you. Flight Leaders, take your units and move to your quadrants. Once there, give us fireworks. Remember, no retaliation. Their scouts must report back to their masters and if we kill them off, you and I will have to spend that much longer here. We want to talk a peace deal, not have our own little war on the side."

The Bulldogs split up into units of five and scattered.

Not long after, silent explosions occurred thousands of kilometers away as each fighter let off a salvo of multiple ordinance.

"Billy?" Mike said. She switched her microphone to silent mode. He didn't hear her so she extended a hand and tapped his shoulder.

"Yeah?"

"How come you didn't say anything about the two Polrobs? Wouldn't it be better to have told everybody about them?"

"Mike, a secret weapon is not a secret when everybody knows about it. The fact that the things are invisible and close by would make all of these guys jumpy knowing that every word and action will be recorded. It would interfere with every judgment call made. I need these guys to be on their toes and not looking over their shoulders before making a decision. In any case, a secret Polrob or two in your back pocket is worth any spy in the cupboard."