Free OMEGA Allegiance by Stephen Arseneault Page B

weapons during our last fight."
    I replied, "These ships are capable, Mr. Carson. We thought we might be heading to Andromeda. Could you offer us anything that might keep those ships from traveling through the portal gate?"
    The Captain thought for a moment. "How many destroyers did you say they had with them?"
    Go spoke up. "Twenty-eight last count. We think more were on the way."
    The Captain nodded. "They are almost ready to go. The last half dozen fleets that have come through have had thirty-six. How old is your ship count?"
    Go replied, "That was about twenty hours ago."
    The Captain winced. "They may have already gone."
    I leaned back. "If that's the case, we will have to go through after them."
    The Captain tilted his head. "What? Are you nuts? You go through that portal and you aren't coming back!"
    I replied, "You came back through."
    The Captain was silent for several seconds. "We cheated. Transports are the only ships they let back through. We waited until that portal opened on the other side and rushed through with those transports. Had we not been broadcasting a phony transport transponder code, they would have shut us out."
    I turned my chair towards the Captain. "I thought you were on a mission to recover an alien ship?"
    The Captain propped his elbow on the chair arm and leaned his cheek over on his fist. "The mission was of our own doing. It was unsanctioned as well, like yours."
    I laughed. "So, you took it upon yourselves to capture an enemy ship? And then tried to bring it back for study? Is that why you hadn't told anyone about its existence? I would have thought the Salton's military Commanders would have been falling all over themselves to get to you to recover that ship when you first came through that gate."
    The Captain sighed. "I've been in this war a long time, Mr. Beutcher. Twice before, whole ships were captured. Only problem was that someone got paid off for that information and both times the ship carrying the alien cargo was destroyed. There are powerful forces at work on both sides of this war, Mr. Beutcher. I think some of the other families have spies in Andromeda."
    I pulled my head back in disbelief. "Why would the other families sabotage the war effort? I can see them declining to participate, but why would they try to stop the Saltons?"
    The Captain shook his head. "I couldn't say. We've been there, me and the others here, we've been there fighting for five years and during that time we've only managed to take three planets."
    I scratched my head. "You mean take back three planets?"
    The Captain furrowed his brows. "What?"
    I continued, "You mean you've only taken back three planets from the enemy?"
    The Captain again shook his head. "No. I mean we've conquered three planets in the last five years. What are you talking about?"
    I held up my hands. "I was told we were defending planets. That the invaders had taken nearly a quarter of the planets in the Andromeda galaxy!"
    The Captain sat back in his chair, raising his own hands. "You must be talking about a different war, Mr. Beutcher. The war we have been fighting is one of conquest. We were told when we first went out there that the Dullex family had abandoned those planets and they were rebelling against the Alliance by building and equipping their own armies. When we arrived, the first planet fell without much resistance.
    "Did you know? The other galaxies? They don't all speak Alliance English? I thought every planet in the Alliance spoke the same language. Anyway, on the second assault we took some casualties, but the rebel population soon surrendered. The third planet, Harkaz, that was a bloody war. It took over a year for us to conquer that place. The inhabitants fought to the last man, woman, and child. I'm not in charge and I just follow orders, but I saw a lot of excesses in that war.
    "Since then, all efforts have been directed at Doomlight III. Most just call it Doom. That's when the new ships showed up and our progress