Unity

Chapter 38

I stuffed myself until I felt sick, and the two movies that I was forced to watch were both comedies. It was nice to feel normal again, even if it was only for a short while. We all stumbled out of the makeshift theater with our guts hurting from laughing and eating too much and made our way back to my office. When we arrived, I looked at each of my commanders and said, "Thank you. I'm glad that I have all of you to keep me sane."

"It was our pleasure captain," Andrew replied. "Now, what can we do to lighten the load around here?"

I walked to my desk and grabbed my tablet. I sat down at the table and motioned for everyone else to do the same. I quickly explained what we had discovered in the Zrynt facility currently below the Unity.

"What is the secret facility for?" asked Miyako when I finished telling the story.

"We're not sure," I answered. "I was hoping I would be able to review the data we copied from their computers." We divided up and started pouring over the information, but I was struggling to understand exactly what I was reading. Five minutes later we were startled when we heard Sarah's voice.

"You are wasting your time," she said. "While you were seeing to your recreational needs, I have been hard at work translating, sorting and classifying the data."

"I appreciate your help," I said. "Would you care to enlighten us as to the purpose of the facility?"

"Before I reveal what I have learned, it is important for you to understand something," Sarah explained. "When the Zrynt conquer a world, they assimilate any technological advances they discover."

"Such as their fighters," I interjected.

"That is correct, Captain," Sarah said. "I have learned additional information regarding the Zrynt hierarchy that didn't exist when they created me. The information from the facility referred to something that translates into a Zrynt Lord. I have never heard of the term before, but after making some logical conclusions, I believe they are high ranking Zrynt military leaders. This facility is dedicated to a specific Zrynt Lord, andiIt is used to integrate new technology into their fleet."

"May I interrupt to ask a question?" Miyako requested.

"You may," Sarah answered.

"Miyako took a breath and said, "From what I have been told, the bigger the ship the higher up the Zrynt food chain you are, and I'm assuming the ships we've been fighting are relatively low in this hierarchy. Would you happen to know what we are facing in regard to the Zrynt Lords?"

Sarah replied, "What you said is true regarding the social standing among the Zrynt. The more powerful you are, the more privileged you are. Privilege among the Zrynt means you have access to better technology. I would agree with your assumption about the threats we have been facing, and from what I have been able to glean we have been facing the non-privileged Zrynt. To put it in more familiar terms for you, you have been fighting the low and middle class Zrynt. As for your question, I can only fathom what we would be facing with those ships. The Zrynt Lords will have access to better technology. You will have to remember, there is a reason they have the standing they do. They are among the most fierce and cunning of their race. I would exercise extreme caution in fighting this foe." Sarah went silent for a moment to allow us to digest this new information. "The final thing I learned is by far the most important. The Zrynt Lord who controls this facility is due to have some upgrades integrated."

"Do we know when they are coming or what upgrades are being performed?" Andrew asked.

"Unfortunately, no, '' Sarah answered. "The Zrynt are extremely paranoid. The perfect time to strike down a Zrynt Lord is when his fleet is undergoing maintenance, hence the secrecy of the facility and its remote location. This paranoia also means that they don't allow any new technology to stay on the station. They don't want their competition to have the same advantages they do."