"Admiral Doul Arbass, I demand that you end this battle now!" Kirk demanded. The officer growled at his younger counter part, his fangs bared. "Who are you to order me about?" The man was now breathing heavily. "I am Doul Arbass! For forty years Have I defended my people. As did my father, and his before him. For one hundred years has my family defended the Azeen people. So I ask again, who are you to order me about?" "I am Joshua Augustus Kirk! Son af Admirals David and Nancy Kirk. And for hundreds of years has my family defended my people." He then stepped away from his command chair, and hopped over the helmsman's station to stand before the admiral in an insolent pose. "And I am the commander of a ship that can destroy your with but a single shot, and I choose not to. But you are trying my patience." Arbass laughed. "Do you think I am frightened by your threats little man? My crew will defeat you." "Do you mean the crew that lays on the deck around you?" Joshua sneered. "A dead crew can do little for you." "They were traitors! They refused to fire when ordered to. They said they needed confirmation from my son the Prime Minister." Arbass leaned forward, drool beginning to run down his chin. "But I command here! I command the Azeen Royal Navy! And I will destroy you. Even if I have to destroy this ship to do it." The madman began pressing keys on a keyboard in front of him. A mechanical voice then began counting down. "A self-destruct command has been given, sir." Mark Berring said. "An explosive device located next to their main reactor. And if these sensor readings are correct, the resulting explosion will blow off the atmosphere on this side of the planet, effectively killing everything on the planet." "Then beam that device off, and into space." "Yes sir." After several seconds, he nodded. "Done sir. Device beamed out into space at maximum dispersal." "Very good." Kirk said with a smile before turning back to the admiral. "I have canceled your self-destruct order." Admiral Arbass grinned at Joshua. But the grin died when the count down ended and nothing happened. He then began to rampage about the bridge. Finally, the hatch fell inwards and a man stepped in and lifted a weapon and fired. Arbass jerked several times before falling to the deck. The man then dropped his arm and stared at the bodies. "Get him to the brig now." He ordered three others who'd followed him in. "Before I kill him." The admiral was lifted and caried away. The newcomer then turned to Joshua. His head jerked back a little. "I was sleeping when the attack started." Kirk said with a slight shrug. "Obviously. I am Commander Wass Kirlou. I apologize for the attack. I know you are here on a mission of peace. But the admiral's mind has been deteriorating for the past year, since the death of his wife. All the fleet's captains have tried to get the Prime Minister to relieve him, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. He knew it would kill his father." He looked at one of the bodies and shook his head. "And unfortunately, his own brother paid the price for his indecision."