| Chapter Six |
| The Great Escape |
| Starbase 01 11:19 SET 2195 The Stealthlon was ready to launch. Jim Brungess waited for the flag officer in the VTOL shuttle that had just landed in the Stealthlon’s docking bay. Straightening out his uniform, he put on his best smile as Blackbird climbed out. “Captain. It’s good to see you again.” Brungess extended his hand to Blackbird. “Captain Brungess! A pleasure as usual. Now what is so important that you have to send a secure message for a secret meeting?” “To my quarters, please.” Once they were in Brungess’s quarters, Captain Blackbird was surprised to see Captain Mansel resting in one of Jim’s lounge chairs. “Mansel! You were invited to this clandestine as well?” Captain Mansel shook his head. “No, Captain, it’s my idea. From his pocket, Mansel produced a picture of the Explorer-B. “Ever seen this ship before?” Captain Blackbird arched an eyebrow. “If I didn’t know any better,” he said, “I’d say it’s the Explorer-B. But it’s not. It’s slightly different.” “It is and it isn’t the Explorer,” Mansel explained. He gestured to a chair near him. “Have a seat, Captain.” Both Captain Blackbird and General Brungess sat down. “Now what’s all this about? Blackbird asked, puzzled and intrigued. “You see, Captain, we’re not from this dimension,” Jim Brungess started. “We’re from another universe almost exactly the same as this one, but due to an unfortunate accident, we ended up here, instead of our intended destination.” “What was your intended destination?” Blackbird asked. General Brungess shot a questioning look at Mansel, who merely shrugged. “I can’t even remember, to tell you the truth. Right now, I’m slightly more concerned with getting home.” “Of course.” Blackbird leaned back in his chair, all business. “Let’s say you’re telling the truth. What happened to make you end up here?” Mansel gave Blackbird a quick run down of what had happened and what needed to happen for them to get back home. “Why not use the Force-A?” Blackbird asked. “That packs more firepower.” “Some things require discretion,” Mansel said. “This is one of those times. Besides,” he continued, “after we steal a starship, we’re going to need to be able to hide. They’ll undoubtedly be looking for us, if not a small fleet. This is an important ship.” “And the Force-A is more important,” Brungess pointed out. “If you and your ship came up mission, off on some clandestine assignment, they’d have the whole fleet after us.” “All this is true,” noted Blackbird. “Why don’t you just go to the UNSF for help?” “Our LOAC would prevent us from making initial contact with any species from another dimension, or time period,” Mansel answered. He glanced at his chrono. “Almost time to get underway.” “One more thing,” interrupted Blackbird, “if you guys have convinced a skeleton crew to work with me here on the Stealthlon, where’s the real crew?” “Mansel’s cook, Molaram, served them a few drinks prior to them shuttling over here,” General Brungess responded, standing up. It felt strange for him to have a UNSF uniform instead of an EDF suit, but Mansel continually assured him that he suited it well. “Molaram slipped in a sleep-induced drug. They passed out shortly after arriving, which was bloody good timing. Our hand chosen crew took their places.” “How did you choose who you wanted?” Blackbird asked as they walked to the nearest turbolift. He led the way in, followed by Brungess, and then Mansel. “You command the Stealthlon in our universe,” Mansel explained. “These people make up your bridge crew.” “How ironic.” “Quite.” The lift doors parted, and the three stepped onto the bridge of the brand new Stealthlon-B |
 |