Recruit: Book One of the Universal Conflict ( Under Constant Editing)

Chapter 20

  "Incoming report from the other sites." Krystal informed the Commander.

  "Let's get back to the ship." T'ilvesh ordered returning to the shuttle "The Civilian population can handle this."

  "Yes, Sir!" the squad answered in unison, saluting.

  Climbing back into their ships the squad lifted off the pad they had occupied and returned to the Revenge.

   Back on board, T'ilvesh headed to his office to review the reports from those who boarded the disabled armada. Those reports showed that the Ruchkitay could survive some time in the vacuum of space. Four of the warriors who boarded the ships had been killed by Ruchkitay that had survived the explosive decompression triggered by the programmers when they disabled the ships. This fact saddened T'ilvesh simply because it could have been avoided by waiting six more hours. Regardless, the planet had been liberated with less killed than he'd figured, a victory he was happy with. Orders now stood for all enemy ships to be left alone for twenty-four hours after venting the atmosphere. This would insure no fatalities in the future.

  "I need to eat." T'ilvesh stated as he started to the mess hall "How about you?"

  "I could use a coffee." Cory said, following the Commander "Been a long day."

  "Surni is back on board." Krystal reported, running to catch up with them "She's in the mess hall having a drink."

  "I didn't know alcohol was allowed on a military ship." Cory said "It's not on Earth. Frowned upon by the command structure."

  "As long as it is kept under control, it's fine." T'ilvesh replied "I can stop the dispensers from serving it if I need to."

  The group greeted Surni when they sat with her.

  "What is that?" Cory inquired, gesturing at the glass in front of her.

  "Caslin. It's an intoxicant. Tastes good, though." Surni replied "Made from casli, a fruit on my homeworld. Careful, it's potent."

  "Noted," Cory said "I'll try some. Anyone else?"

  Getting up Cory went and grabbed a round for the table.

He looked at the dark purple liquid, then brought the glass up to smell it. A sweet aroma permeated his nose. Thinking it had a low alcohol content, he took a drink and choked as he swallowed, the liquor burning a path down his throat. The potent drink suddenly turned sweet, the aftertaste fruity.

  "I warned you!" Surni said, laughing as Cory caught his breath.

   "You did." Cory acknowledged "It's good though. Nice aftertaste. This reminds me of a drink called 'glugg', a Scandinavian concoction. Best served hot."

  "I might have to try that sometime." Surni mused.

  As they sat and sipped their drinks Shoure and Chuff joined them, having just arrived back on board. Chuff went and got some food for him and Shoure since they hadn't eaten with the others, patrolling the village with the ground troops while the villagers were fed.

  "We need to leave weapons for them." Krystal was saying " If other Ruchki's come, they can fight effectively."

  "Do it." T'ilvesh ordered "Who do we leave to train them, though?"

  "Easy,"  Shoure said, around a mouthful of food, "Squad leaders can train them before we depart. We still need to patrol for a few days, until they are able to set up their own."

  "Good idea. Get the manufacturing ships to make weapons for them." T'ilvesh stated as he rose to leave.

  The squad saluted when he left  for the bridge, alone.

  "Command weighs heavily." Cory observed, noticing the slouch as the Commander trod off "He needs sleep. Come to think of it, so do I."

  Krystal nodded in agreement "I think we all do. I'm going to the bridge for a minute, see if I can persuade him to go to bed."

  "Alright, I'll see you when you're done." Cory replied.           _______________________________

  On the bridge, T'ilvesh had just received confirmation from the civilian leaders saying they would arrive in twelve hours.

  "Good, I caught you." Krystal said as she strode onto the bridge.

  "I didn't know I was being chased," the Commander said, grinning as he turned to face her "Cory might not like his mate chasing another partner though."

  "Funny." Krystal retorted sarcastically. Turning serious she said "You need rest as much as the rest of us. As Captain of the Revenge, I'm ordering you to bed. ...Sir."

  "On my way, ma'am." T'ilvesh  stated, snapping to attention and saluting her.

  Both burst out laughing at their little exchange as the crew looked on in amusement, knowing their ranking officers had a sense of humor and joked around with each other. At these times actual rank didn't apply.

  Saying goodnight to each other, both left the bridge to their respective quarters for sleep.

  In Cory and Krystals cabin, Cory waited as Krystal readied herself for bed. Curling up, Cory pulled her to him and put his arms around her. She turned her head to talk but stopped talking when Cory kissed her.

  "Go to sleep." He told her You're exhausted."

  She kissed him back and snuggled up. She fell asleep quickly, Corys arms around her.