A SPARTAN'S WAR

CHAPTER 870



SCIMITAR

ELEVEN HOURS FROM SOLMAR SYSTEM

FEBRUARY 4TH, 1840 HRS EST

"…lost your minds?" Ben O'Connor's voice sprang from the holo transmission in front of Sadi and Ne'Veha.

Sadi glanced at Ne'Veha quickly where she sat next to her and smiled, Carisia and Lu'ria bookending them on the couch in their quarters on the SCIMITAR, also with small grins on their faces. She turned back to the life size figure of Admiral O'Connor who was pacing back and forth in his office at Dreamland.

"I assure you Admiral… we are quite in command of all our cognizant abilities." Sadi answered him with a smile.

Ben stopped pacing and looked at them. "I'm not so sure." He hissed. "He's beginning to take after his father you know! Now their nut job mentality has rubbed off on you just like it did Anja and the others! Andro's boneheaded move just revealed to half the Kavalian Command Structure where he is and…"

"You know the reason he did that Admiral." Lu'ria spoke up quickly.

Ben nodded. "I know why he did it." He stated. "I'm just trying to determine how much of a blow he took to the head in order to actually do it!"

"We trust him." Sadi spoke confidently. "And I have already ordered Admiral Ceneu to deploy forces in order to counter any reinforcements the Kavalians may send. Whatever forces they have there already will be all they are getting."

Ben lifted the data pad. "Now you send me this?"

"You received our schematics then?" Ne'Veha asked.

"I got them Ne'Veha. How long did it take you and Sadi to put this together?" Ben asked her.

Ne'Veha glanced at Sadi. "Seven hours." She answered almost embarrassed, turning back to the image of the most famous human/vampire hybrid in the entire Lycavorian Union. A man who made the impossible seem mundane. Admiral Benjamin O'Connor was one of Martin Leonidas's oldest and most cherished friends. A man who had been with him long before he had ever become King of the Union and a man that the King listened too exclusively when he spoke. A man that Andro secretly suspected of being an Eridiani Sadi knew. It would account for his amazing longevity even before becoming a vampire as well as his supreme intelligence.

"Seven hours!" Ben almost shouted. "Seven hours to take the frame of one of the Pralor corvettes, twist it and turn it to suit your needs and turn it into one of the most advanced ships in the fleet!"

Sadi nodded her head. "Umm… essentially yes." She said also somewhat embarrassed.

"Why ain't you two working for me instead of traipsing all over the galaxy after that malda man you are mated too!" Ben barked.

"It wouldn't be anywhere near as fun." Carisia spoke now.

Ben snorted loudly. "Fun!" He bellowed. "Are you saying I'm not fun young lady?"

Carisia's face narrowed in worry and she shook her head quickly. "No… no sir." She stammered.

"Admiral… we consulted with both Avi and 341 and they…" Sadi began.

Ben held up his hand. "No wife to Androcles Leonidas calls me Admiral… is that clear?" He stated. "I forbid it."

"Ben…" Sadi said softly. "There is a reason for this." She spoke. "With Ne'Veha and I now bonded to dragons, even the new STRIKER is not large enough for all of us. We needed a ship that could match the speed and abilities of the STRIKER and still carry all of us. You know Jomann and Eli will never be apart from Andro. They are too close as Prince and Captain and brother and sister. Eli would never let him go anywhere far from her. She feels her purpose is to keep him in one piece and that purpose now extends to us as well it seems."

"Good luck to her with that." Ben said with a smile. "She's been trying to do that since she was a little girl and he always manages to get the shit kicked out of him every so often. She might have better luck with you five, but I doubt it."

All of them laughed softly at that. "How true." Lu'ria said softly.

"With all of us combined we are talking about seven dragons. Possibly one or two more in the future. We are not sure about that yet. " Sadi said. "We used Shiria's ship as a foundation base and it just turned out to be a perfect fit."

"Sadi… considering the size and power this ship would have… you're talking about an entirely new class." Ben spoke. "A Heavy Corvette for lack of a better term. Not to mention it will be our first attempt at building a purely Pralor ship." He typed on the pad. "What kind of crew are we talking?"

"We want to keep the flight crew at three." Sadi answered. "Myself, SirsanGai and a Flight Engineer. Preferably one who is an excellent pilot so that we can cross deck to one another. Andro and Jomann are well versed enough in weapons and tactics and Eliani added her designs for a small Med Bay. Dutkne has become Andro's… his Oracle for lack of a better term. If all goes as Shiria and Deia have worked out then Jomann will have a counter to him as a Paladin. Aside from the eleven of us and our dragons, perhaps a dozen more permanent crew. More than likely cross trained Durcunusaan that Jomann will pick."

Ben looked at her in the transmission. "You do realize that putting one of SPARTA'S WRATH's spare Quantum Fusion Resonance Reactors in this puppy will make it seriously overpowered for the size you are talking."

Sadi smiled. "That's what we like." She said.

"We're going to have to reinforce every brace and strut with a solid coating of inch thick Dragon Armor and Lyrium Durcorsis seams." Ben spoke almost to himself. "The outer hull shell will have to be made up of our Dragon Armor laced with the Pralor Lyrium Weave Durcorsis to keep it as light as you want but not lose any structural integrity or the ability to take a pounding." He looked up and them. "We can't duplicate the bio-mechanical properties of true Pralor vessels, I've already confirmed that with Avi. We don't have the minerals needed for full osmosis into the hull."

Sadi nodded her head. "Avi told us their Lyrium Weave Durcorsis and Dragon Armor will make a superior combination almost equal in endurance."

"Sadi… this will be the first ship that we build that will be based solely on advanced Pralor technology right down to the brackets. It will just look like one of ours." Ben told them. "After a fashion anyway. Most of the tech will come from SPARTA'S WRATH since CS4's main drive is inert."

Sadi nodded. "It will also serve as a test bed for future enhancements of the ARIZONA's and other ships." She smiled. "Miranda and Zaala were with 341 when we contacted him and Avi. They actually already had the design ideas for the power conduits and the engine core chamber. They are taking a very interested stance. If these designs work on this ship, Miranda will request to have similar ones installed on the newer ARIZONA's. I'm betting they will want to help build it since it needs to fit into the SCIMITAR's landing bay."

"Figures they'd have their two cents in on this." Ben spoke. "They are the best people I got on Pralor tech outside of Avi and 341. And those two have been like winning the lottery to me. And no bet with Manda and Zaala or their back channel intentions." He said with a grin. "I'd lose anyway. I got nearly a thousand of those worker drones scurrying all over the fucking place tweaking this and that and working with my engineers. They are helping us to kick out ships at four times the rate. I love it!"

"Given the design parameters and the worker drones you have Ben… how soon do you think before you can have it?" Sadi asked.

Ben looked at her. "Jeez girl… you don't beat around the bush do you?" He hissed. "This is going to take time! We're building it from the frame up!"

Sadi met his gaze. "I'll give you three weeks." She stated firmly. "We know Andro… and we can give it whatever shake down tests it may need. We want…"

Ben held up his hand. "Give me four weeks." He told her. "I'll have it for you before you go to the Beta Quadrant."

Sadi blinked and looked at Lu'ria quickly before turning back to him. "What makes you think we are going to the Beta Quadrant any time soon?" She asked.

Ben chuckled gently now. "Ah… Sadi. Don't forget… I've known Androcles a lot longer than you. I know how that boy thinks… cause he thinks just like his father. And his father is one evil and devious sonofabitch when he wants to be."

Carisia leaned forward now. "What… what do you mean Ben?" She asked softly.

Ben smiled. "Ask him what he has planned when you link up with him. He'll tell you." He answered. He held up the data pad. "I'll put together a team to start building this. 341 will be giving you updates. Avi is heading out on one of the Pralor corvettes tomorrow."

"Heading where?" Sadi asked.

"Andro contacted me a couple days ago and said he wanted Avi put on one of the Pralor corvettes and sent to link up with Marty and the others." Ben said with a shrug. "He didn't offer a reason and I didn't ask. We're packing the ship with some extra goodies for Marty and the gang and it will return with messages for families and Intel. It's the first of a series of supply meets that we have arranged. Having the corvettes makes it relatively smooth." A chime of some kind echoed in the background and caused him to look up. "Ok… got to go. I'll have 341 keep you in the loop and contact you if he has any questions."

"Thank you Ben." Sadi said quickly.

Ben nodded. "Tell Andro to keep his hard head down."

"We will." Sadi answered just before the transmission ended and Ben's life size image disappeared. She leaned back on the couch and looked at Ne'Veha thoughtfully. "He took that better than I thought." She said.

"He couldn't have known…" Lu'ria said. "You and SirsanGai only just finished the details a few hours ago."

Sadi looked at her. "Perhaps… but it just seems he has been expecting such a request."

"The 1st Elven Engineer Division considers him the most brilliant mind in the entire Union when it comes to engineering." Ne'Veha spoke. "That is as big a praise as you will get from the commander of that unit."

Sadi nodded. "Yes it is."

Carisia moved closer to Ne'Veha on the couch. "We should speak of Sehri while we are here together." She stated softly watching as they all turned to her. "I'm a pureblood vampire and even I could sense within Mindvoice that her Coming of Age fever is upon her. And quite strongly."

Sadi nodded again. "From what we now know, the Rothryn people are Lycavorians who simply cannot shift their forms. They are identical to us in every other way. And that means they still have the same physical reactions."

"And since she would be considered a pureblood…" Lu'ria began. "Her fever will be very strong."

"She is suppressing it rather well." Ne'Veha commented. "At least to others."

"It's still battering her shields terribly." Sadi agreed with a nod. "And she has doubts about something that is keeping her from embracing what she feels entirely."

"We will need to strengthen our connection with her as we draw closer Sadi." Lu'ria spoke. "I am only recently turned… just like SirsanGai. Because of how we are connected within Mindvoice, the effects of her fever are more pronounced on us physically and with Enylarcopri it within Mindvoice . We can't let that distract us."

"There is no doubt in Andro's mind." Ne'Veha spoke with a small smile. "No hesitation in the least when he thinks of her or any of us."

Sadi nodded and smiled. "I know. He has accepted it fully now. After what happen with Caliria he will no longer doubt his instincts. We belong to him."

"What do you mean?" Carisia asked.

"He feels responsible for what happen with Caliria." Sadi said. "All of you feel that. He won't speak of it to us because it shames him but his emotions are torn about what to do." Sadi shook her head. "That will work itself out." She spoke. "We must concentrate on the here and now."

"And you still will not allow me to visit Ulana and explain things to her?" Lu'ria asked with lethal humor.

All of them laughed and Sadi leaned over to grab Lu'ria's soft, pink lips in a kiss as Ne'Veha and Carisia grinned while looking on. "Oh Mistress… that would not be entirely fair." Sadi spoke.

"Who said anything about being fair?" Lu'ria hissed. "Andro is ours!"

Sadi nuzzled Lu'ria's throat and ran her tongue between the deep valley of ebony skin between her Drow Mistress's large breasts. "Have no fear Mistress. That will become painfully clear to Ulana in the days ahead… and we won't have to do a thing. Given what we are all feeling from Andro… I'm thinking he will set Ulana in her place."


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