The North Star 

glided smoothly across the outer edge of the planet's atmosphere, like a dragon hunting her prey.  Reports had arrived earlier of Korelean pirate ships raiding the system, and Captain Jaanai Resnick had ordered her helmsman to get them there in record time.  She looked out the bridge screen at the white-yellow glow surrounding the purplish planet like a halo.  She'd heard a great deal about Kumali, though she'd never actually visited.  Perhaps she and her crew could grab a day or two of shore leave once the Koreleans had been dealt with. 

      Famous for their ruthlessness, the Koreleans were crafty opponents.  She and her crew would have to stay alert to keep from being taken by surprise.  “I want all scanner stations at full alert,” she said to her first officer. 

      Commander Watts nodded as he hit a button on his panel.  “All scanner stations to full alert.  I'd better head down to station beta and brief them.  They're new, and I don't think they've had many encounters with Koreleans before.”  Like other Coalition ships, the North Star had recently taken on more crew to meet the increased need in a time of war. 

      “Good thinking, Commander.”  As Watts headed for the lift, she turned to Lieutenant Akruba at the communications station.  “Monitor all bands, Lieutenant.” 

      Akruba fed commands into her computer, adjusting the frequency dials.  “Yes, Captain.”  Now it was a matter of waiting until they located the targets.   

      “Captain, we have a distress call from Utani about raiders hitting the capitol,” Akruba reported twenty minutes later. 

      “Thank you, Lieutenant,” Jaanai replied.  “Ensign Hin, take us there,” she ordered her helmsman.   

      She felt the surge as the FTL drives shifted to full power and the North Star shot around the planet headed for Utani.  Only two planets away from Kumali, the North Star's speed would get them there in under an hour.   

      “I want scans as soon as they're in range,” she said over the comm, listening as the various scanner stations responded with affirmation. 

      The scanners located two Korelean cruisers circling the planet.  Jaanai ordered the helmsman to bring them out of light speed as close between them as he could.   

      “Red Alert, all stations.”  As klaxons blared and red lights flashed around her, she turned to the weapons station.  “Get a lock on them!” 

      Ensign Thom worked the targeting computer with intense focus.  “I have them both, Captain.” 

      “Torpedoes and cannons,” she instructed, excitement rising. 

      Thom typed the commands into the computer.  “Ready on your command.” 

      “Fire!”  She watched the blasts leave the North Star as little white blips on her combat radar. 

      “It looks like we surprised them,” Ensign Hin said, as they watched the Korelean cruisers take evasive maneuvers. 

      Jaanai smiled, proud of her team.  The good Lord had really blessed her first command.  She'd heard of commanders struggling with rookie crews fresh out of the academy.  She had a few rookies too, of course, but most of her crew had at least six months' experience.  It made the transition so much easier and allowed her to rely on them right away with confidence. 

      Her combat radar flashed as several blasts found their targets.  “Good shooting, Ensign,” she said, smiling at Thom. 

      “They're headed for the far side of the planet.”  Hin waved at the screen.  He slid the standard drives into action, following the targets without needing to be told. 

      “Captain, we have lots of comm activity now,” Akruba said.  “They're recalling their forces from the surface.” 

      Jaanai motioned to Thom.  “Target them, too, as soon as they're in range.”  This seemed all too easy.  The Koreleans weren't known to turn and run.  “It shouldn't be this simple.  What are they doing down there?” 

      The lift doors opened and Commander Watts stepped out onto the bridge.  “Is it just me or are they oddly skittish?” 

      Jaanai frowned, puzzled.  “What did the scanners pick up on the surface?” 

      “Five shuttles and six fighters,” Watts replied.  “Unusual numbers for a simple raid.” 

      He was stating the obvious.  Jaanai smiled as a thought occurred to her.  “Maybe it's more than a raid.”  She'd heard rumors that the pirates had been searching out locations for new bases throughout the galaxy.  Could they really be so lucky as to stumble onto one? 

      “A base team?” Watts asked, as if he'd read her mind. 

      “What else could it be?” 

      Watts' eyes almost glowed.  “Utani's rich in resources with very weak defenses.  They've relied too long on neighboring planets.”  He turned and spoke into his comm. 

      “And Coalition ships like us,” Thom added. 

      “Maybe this will convince them of their folly,” Jaanai said, shaking her head.  Civilian governments never learned.  We keep offering them workshops on strategy and enemy tactics, but they never come.  It was tempting to let them face the consequences, but not if it meant giving the Koreleans a new base. 

      Blips appeared on her combat radar.  “Landing parties are leaving the atmosphere,” Watts reported. 

      “Let's give them a warm welcome.”  Jaanai sat back in her command chair as Thom and Watts worked their computers. 

      “Cannon teams are locked on the smaller craft,” Watts confirmed. 

      “I'm locked on the cruisers,” Thom said. 

      “Fire!”  Blips streaked from the North Star toward the various targets as smaller craft broke off from the main group and raced toward them. 

      “Incoming fighters.”  Watts' eyes locked on hers.  Fighters would be no good against the North Star's defenses.  

      “It's just a diversion.  Target everything you can,” she ordered Thom, and then turned to Watts.  “Get the gunners to concentrate on the shuttles.” 

      Watts nodded.  “I already issued the order.” 

      The Koreleans had declared war on the galaxy with little or no provocation.  Rumor had it they wanted more than just loot.  They had a long time hatred for Christians, and the galaxy had been colonized by Christians escaping persecution on Old Earth.  Jaanai had no idea why the Koreleans hated them, but their attacks had been more frequent and ruthless than those in neighboring galaxies. 

      A thought occurred to her.  “Lieutenant Akruba, any mention of General Grat?” 

      Akruba turned as she held the comm headset tightly to her ear.  “Not by name, but they are referring to a 'lead negotiator.'” 

      Grat!  The Koreleans' leader trusted only a handful of advisors, most who had been with him for decades.  But according to Coalition intelligence reports Grat always did the negotiating himself.  “Any sign of a command shuttle?” 

      Watts shook his head.  “If he's there, he's well hidden.” 

      “Two shuttles destroyed, a third disabled,” Thom reported.  “One of the cruisers has lost two engines.” 

      Jaanai smiled.  “Open channel, Lieutenant,” Jaanai ordered.  There was only one thing she knew of which might work. 

      “Channel open,” Akruba confirmed. 

      “We know you're there, General.  Don't you want to come out and play,” she taunted.  Grat was known for his arrogance, and Coalition commanders had reported the best way to elicit a response was with taunting.  Come on, General, don't disappoint me. 

      Moments later, General Grat appeared on the bridge screen.  His black uniform was crisp, but his hair looked disheveled, and his face seemed gaunt and weary.  “Captain Resnick!  How's my favorite iconoclast of incompetence?” 

      Jaanai smiled.  Gray had antiquated views of women.  The idea of her command seemed to particularly irritate him.  “I so enjoy this witty repartee, General.  Perhaps later you can come for tea.” 

      Grat scowled.  “Perhaps later I can sweep up your ashes from space!” 

      Watts hit a button muting the comm channel.  “The transmissions are coming from the center shuttle.” 

      “Targeting now,” Thom said, before anyone could ask. 

      Watts motioned that he'd reopened the channel.  Janaai turned back to the screen.  “That's too bad, General.  I'd planned such a nice surprise for you.” 

      “I had the same planned for you, Captain!”  Grat turned as an officer ran up next to him and began whispering.  “It must be an accident.”  Grat blinked like a toad in a hailstorm.  “Where are the fighters?”  He seemed to have forgotten all about the open comm line. 

      “I see you've discovered our surprise, General.”  Jaanai tried her best to keep from smirking. 

      Grat jumped from his chair and ran toward the helm as his officers whispered around him.  “I don't care!  Order the other shuttles into their path!  What do you mean they're locked on?!” 

      Grat pounded his fist against a chair in exasperation.  “All cruisers return fire!” 

      Jaanai watched as orange and yellow flashes filled the shuttle before the screen turned to static.  A shuttle exploded on her combat radar.  “We got him!” 

      “The remaining fighters have turned off,” Watts reported.  They're on the run!” 

      The crew erupted into cheering, smiling faces.  With Grat out of the equation, the Koreleans would be chaotic until they found new leadership.  The North Star had obviously stumbled onto the right place by accident.  Not by accident, by God's providence!  She knew better than to think otherwise.  God's warriors, Coalition forces called themselves.  Throughout history, God's protection had followed them.  

      “Where to, Captain?” Hin's face was hopeful. 

      “Kumali, Ensign.”   

      Her crew erupted into cheering again, as she offered a silent prayer of thanks.