Step by step to the familiar headquarters was loose and calm passing by cadets babbling excitedly about the big graduation. Some had their graduation outfits on. Jason smiled, nostalgically at the outfits. Reminded him of his graduation robes except they were very different. Samantha wore a pleased expression. Jason and Samantha walked into Star Command. Stone stood in front of the space monitor with a cadet beside him. There was a grim atmosphere lingering in the normally bright, hopeful room. Jason had the distinct feeling that not everything was right. It didn't feel right. He came to a stop across from the stoic deputy commander. Not many of the cadets were actively on their stations. Some just seemed to be frozen in place in a tense manner. The only sounds in the circular room were coming from the equipment. That did not seem to be good news.
"Commander?" Jason asked. "What is it?"
"He found us, Jason," Stone said. "Dragos and his squadron is headed this way."
"I see no reason to be grim about it," Jason said, relaxed.
"It's not three this time," Stone said. "He is launching a full scale attack on the academy."
"How large of a attack?" Jason asked.
Stone gestured toward the space monitor and Jason came toward it. Samantha's bright smile had faded away replaced by a horrified expression on her face. He looked at the screen to see the oncoming traffic was more than just his personless squadron but it had a lot of company from behind. There had to be over a hundred of them headed their way. ETA was around one hour and thirty-three minutes if the fleet kept up their speed. Which was exactly at the same time the graduation would start with speeches. Over four thousand cadets in attendance and two thousand ready to graduate. Jason looked up in the direction of Stone for any kind of hope that he could offer.
"We passed the last transmission period that we could contact Fleet Command," Stone said. "We're on all our own."
"This is grounds for a evacuation," Jason said.
"We don't do that here," Stone said. "We're doing this by the book."
"The book is telling us to run away, Commander," Jason said. "That book must be outdated."
"Your book, Jason," Stone said. A surprised look grew on Jason's face. "Risk is our business.. Space Academy is cut off from any new information pertaining to Star Command. And I rather leave it that way until . . ."
"And who's going to tell him if we don't succeed?" Samantha asked.
"The professor," Jason said. "Why is Gina here?"
"I was the one who found them first," Gina said. "I was piloting a seeker with Peepo finishing up my pilot training." Gina was rubbing her shoulder. She was in a white and orange graduation outfit complete with a long orange scarf object on both sides of her neck, she wore a unique hat with a long piece of rope, and the sleeves reached down to her wrists. "It seems today that his defeat from years ago is going to be avenged."
"It won't be," Jason said. "You can count on it. We all can count on it. . ." He turned his eyes on to Stone. "We're going to need all the pilots we can get."
"We're keeping this off the radar," Stone said. "No cadets can be part of this operation."
"Just the four of us?" Samantha asked.
"Three," Stone said. "Star Command is under Professor Parsafoot. I am sure he can handle it."
"Sure," Jason said. "But not when he is busy making celebration holographic gear."
"Cadet," Stone said. "Go to his lab and tell him that he is in command, afterwards go attend the graduation ceremony."
"And keep it back from everyone that we might die?" Gina asked. "That doesn't sound right."
"Every day we can die because of Dragos and this isn't different," Stone said. "You can tell your parents after the ceremony. You are dismissed."
Gina nodded, concerned, then walked out of Star Command.
"I got a idea how we can take them down," Jason said. "But it has never been done on a fleet."
"Ideas is all we got, Jason," Stone said. "Debrief us on the way to the docking bay."