Starship Vengeance

Chapter 7

"Hope? Really?" asked Lisa as she walked into my office.

"I rather like the name" I said defensively. "Besides, I wasn't the one that chose it."

"There are so many better names though."

"Like what?" I asked.

She hesitated a moment. "You could call it Earth 2.0, or new Earth, or Terra. Hope just sounds tacky."

"And Earth 2.0 isn't tacky?"

She glared at me and said, "You're missing the point."

"I understand what you are saying. Tell you what, come up with a better alternative than Earth 2.0 and I'll propose it when we arrive." I was trying hard to keep a straight face.

"I can't believe you are still making fun of me" she said as she playfully smacked my arm.

My face grew serious. "I assume you had a reason for this impromptu meeting, besides making fun of our new home and striking the fleet admiral."

I saw the color drain from her face. "I didn't mean... I mean I would never..." I could contain myself no longer and burst out laughing. She scowled and smacked my arm again. She finally broke down and laughed with me. The euphoria lasted only a few moments, and then her face grew serious.

"I suppose you want to know what I plan to do with you" I said after a moment of silence.

"I have only ever done what I thought was right" she started to say before I cut her off.

"I have decided on a suitable punishment. You will no longer retain your position on the Unity, effective immediately. You will be expected to vacate your quarters upon arrival." I could see tears forming in her eyes and her hands started to tremble. "That isn't the worst of it." I softened my expression. "The fate I am condemning you to I wouldn't wish on anyone. I'm instating you as the interim leader of the human race until the situation stabilizes and a new council can be elected."

Fear and grief were quickly swept away by a look of confusion. "But I thought you said you were punishing me" she said quietly.

"Trust me, you will understand very soon why I refer to it as a punishment. I will make the announcement shortly after we arrive. For now, you will use your time as you see fit to fulfil your new position." I smiled at her and pointed to a chair. "You may as well sit down. There is much to discuss." I waited for Lisa to sit before continuing. "I'm going to announce the creation of a second battle fleet. We need to build our strength. I recommend that you settle any and all disputes as quickly as possible. Knowing how quickly our people turn to violence, I wouldn't be surprised if they aren't at each other's throats by the time we arrive."

"How do you expect me to do that?"

"I'm afraid I don't have all the answers. Another thing, and this is mandatory, you must dissolve your clandestine organization. We'll keep your ties to Chaos secret for now, but I'm sure your grandfather would be proud to see how far you have come."

"Thank you Jack." We spent several hours talking about what needed to be done. Lisa's task was daunting if not impossible. She left overwhelmed but brimming with ideas on how to help overcome centuries of hate.

Several hours later I was on the bridge as we prepared for the second jump on our way home. We were taking a direct route using longer jumps, so the time in between jumps was longer than I would have liked. Overall it would take us just under four days to rendezvous with the rest of humanity. I was starting to agree with Lisa about the name of the planet. As much as I appreciated the meaning of the name, something more suitable would need to be found.