Athos_Aramis

Jim Brungess’s house, V.A.
12:16 SET
2181

“You’re going to do what?” Lieutenant Colonel James Brungess and Captain Darryl Mansel asked at the same time.

Eric Meelan nodded his head. “That’s right, guys, I’m going to find the Lost Fleet.”

Brungess rubbed the bridge of his nose. They were at his house in Hampton, Virginia, not too far away from Langley Air Force Base, the current headquarters for Earth Defense Force Intelligence.

Meelan had gotten in from his patrol duty on Gara III the other day. He had made up his mind to tell his friends about his journey on the way back. It had no been an easy decision; he knew that it would most likely come down to them trying to talk him out of it. Which was exactly what was about to happen.

Mansel leaned forward in his chair, gripping the armrests. Though he was now commander of 4th Fleet’s Task Force Command, he still had starship captain tendencies. “Eric,” he said, “the whole story about the Maiden class ships is just that-- a story. Everyone knows that parents tell their kids that kind of stuff just to get them to go to sleep. It doesn’t exist.”

“Even if it did,” Lt. Col. Brungess continued, “the Lost Fleet is just that...lost. You’d have no idea where to start looking.”

Meelan tapped his temple. “It’s all up here. I’ve seen it over the past few years in my dreams. I can’t shake it.”

“What makes you believe it’s really out there?” Captain Mansel asked. “How do you know it’s not just a dream?”

“I don’t know,” answered Meelan. “I feel it. Deep down. I’ve never known anything to be more right.”

"What if you go striking off in search of this lost treasure and find nothing?” Brungess asked. “What if you end up lost in space?”

“Then I’m lost in space,” Meelan answered confidently. “Look guys, I know it sounds outrageous, but I’m begging you guys to support me. I’ve never asked for anything major from you guys until now. I know that fleet is out there somewhere, waiting to be claimed. Look at the UNSF. It’s resources are stretched so thin, replicators on every ship are being burned out.” At this last comment about the UNSF, Captain Mansel stirred, but kept quiet. He was the only one in the room to defend his military, but chose not to do it. He let Meelan continue rambling.

“If we did find the Lost Fleet, think of what that would do for the UNSF,” he continued, eyes lighting up. “A fleet of warships with cloaking capabilities at our fingertips. With these ships, we could end this war, and quick.”

“We?” Brungess said. “What’s all this talk about ‘we?’”

“I can’t do this alone,” he said. “I’m going to need help.” He looked from Brungess to Mansel. “And who could I count on more than Athos and Aramis?”

“Oh now he plays to our sense of adventure,” Mansel said, smirking and leaning back in his chair.

“True, you wouldn’t be able to do it by yourself, that’s why it’s best you don’t go at all.”

“Darryl,” said Meelan, turning to his African American friend, “this is the opportunity of a lifetime. End the war. Be able to roam the stars in peace as we wished. Yes, our days of glory as musketeers would end, but so would all the bloodshed and the riots. That would make your job a lot easier. It would make all our jobs easier.”

Brungess nodded. “True. What’s this fleet’s compliment? Assuming it exists, of course.”

“Legends are told that the fleet is over a hundred ships, all with massive firepower and cloaking capability. When not at war, they were used as armored transports.”

“I’d say they were armored alright,” Mansel snorted. “So how would three people get a hundred warships back to the UNSF?”

“They also have a slave control,” Meelan continued, sitting on the edge of his chair. “They can all be controlled on the bridge of the flagship. It’s out there and it’s waiting for us three.”

“Eric,” said Jim, “you can’t go. What about your obligations to EDF? What about mine? And Mansel’s to the UNSF? We can’t just leave our posts whenever we want to, you know.”

“You can if you have permission from the Commander-in-Chief,” Meelan stated, giving a dubious Brungess a defiant look.

“Permission from the Commander-in-Chief to go off for who knows how long and look for a fleet of warships that doesn’t exist?” asked Mansel. “That’s absurd.”

Unperturbed, Meelan ignored the skeptical Captain. “I have a meeting with Admiral Blackbird and General Jumper in three days,” he said. “There, everything will be laid out. All I need is support.”