"Why did you come here with all the fleet?" JS said in a level voice. The Earthener Alliance's fleet headed straight for the big space station orbiting Rasharr and now was almost at a comfortable viewing distance. "We came to lend you a hand, Sea" GOD said. "You must leave immediately." JS replied. "Certainly not. The Earth Alliance has long called for the opening of a second front to relieve the pressure the Rogue fleet is putting on Earthener colonies and allied nations." "Does this mean you are dragging the whole Rogue fleet along? Should we expect to see the Bloody Dawn come out of hyperspace at any moment?" JS kept his tone collected. GOD made a grimace and said: "The Earth cannot wait for your little private war here to go on. There is shortage of raw materials since the Admiral controls the trade routes. His fleet is at our heels, but if you don't like our presence here, we can head for HD 545." GOD's eyes seemed to pierce the screen. Eve felt JS swearing mentally: "They found Pie, Eve!" HD 545 was the astronomical name of their planet. The threat was explicit, however outwardly JS showed no reaction, and grinned with icy nonchalance: "Of course. There are only a few old people and some farmer over there. All expendable. Yet I would be very surprised by such a decision, a strategically moronic one, I daresay. But perhaps GOD's standards are no longer those of her halcyon years." On the screen Eve saw GOD's frown, JS's insult had hit the mark. She was going to dress down that impudent cad when her face changed instantly. She stopped staring at him as if the flap of his pants gaped open but looked at him with the narrowed eyes of total of suspicion. "Sea, who the hell supplied you with those new ships?" "Nobody." JS said. "We need to talk." GOD ordered. Eve felt that she did not believe JS's reply and was mentally listing those who might have provided JS with NMS Kukri and NMS Dirk. "These ships aren't Rogue," GOD was thinking, "too different in shape and technology, nor Grays', we'd have seen them patrolling the Gray sector against the Rogues. They must be from some unknown galactic power, perhaps from the Perseus arm. Sea maybe met emissaries from this unknown entity while in mission for EVIL, and is now selling this spur of the galaxy in order to aggrandize himself." "We are ready to welcome you on board." JS replied. "Eve, Maurr, I want you to stay." Eve was fascinated with what was happening: a meeting like that was worth a hundred lectures. She felt Maurr's tension. He was upset by the arrival of the EA fleet and feared that now some Rasharrs might see it as a century-old enemy's invasion and not as a war of liberation. Maurr wished to be present at the meeting, but did not want to ask JS for an invitation. But now that JS had invited him, Maurr relaxed a little: "Maybe Puhrr should be present too, otherwise she will pester us for months." "Better Xahrr," JS nodded, "so he will be sure we truly think of him as an equal." Aboard Vickie, GOD smiled: "We had a rocky start, Sea. For our sake, let's forget it, we have a situation now. A beautiful ship, really, to see it in person is a joy to behold." JS bent slightly, offering her the barest show of respect possible. In the meeting room Eve, Maurr and Xahrr were waiting. At the last moment JS told Flotsam and Jetsam to join the meeting, just to tumble GOD's thoughts. "Your plan?" GOD asked. "I had one," JS pointed out, "but your arrival messed everything up a bit. I'm afraid it will be brute force against brute force." Then he smiled and added, "But didn't Blücher arrive late?" The alarms start wailing. "The Rogue fleet is out of hyperspace." "I'll go back aboard EAS Minerva." GOD said. "This is for Dr. De Carvalho from DR. Prubha." said one of the Earth's officers giving JS a pen-drive. --- Thanks!