Two hours later, we arrived at the new E.G.O. headquarters. Washington, D.C., had been obliterated in the Lacertine invasion, so it was no longer a viable option for governmental infrastructure, and the population of Earth had been decimated, some reports saying nearly 70% of the population was either dead or shipped off-world. We were in the process of rebuilding, but it would be a very long, very expensive process, and both time and credits were in short supply on Earth.

  Since D.C. was out, Houston became the next best alternative. NASA had infrastructure that was severely lacking in the context of the futuristic vessels EGO now found itself in possession of, but it could be modified enough to meet the current need. The E.G.O. Headquarters was now located in the old NRG football stadium, the previous home of the Houston Texans. Earth was pulling itself from the ashes of near destruction, but we weren’t quite ready to announce a new NFL schedule, so the building was repurposed with little pushback.

  The Pup hovered over the retractable roof of the stadium as it opened, and we lowered down into the center of the stadium. The turf field, goal posts, and seating had all been removed. Now, there was empty concrete, and a couple of E.G.O. drop ships sat awaiting their opportunity to join the newly acquired E.G.O. fleet. E.G.O. service personnel were all over the area, performing various tasks as we landed. The Pup jerked as the reverse propulsion engines whined, and we came to a stop. The rear cargo bay door opened, and a very official-looking guy was there to greet us.

  “Representative Dawes,” He nodded to my dad. “Captain Dawes,” He nodded to me. “The Senior Representatives are all assembled and have been briefed on your request for a meeting. Follow me, if you would.”

  “Tiff, Matty, let’s go,” I said as we walked down the ramp.

  The man stopped and looked back, “Apologies, at this time only Representative Dawes and yourself have been cleared for the meeting.”

  I walked up to the man, activated my armor, and summoned my daggers. “What’s your name?”

  The man stumbled back as I approached. “Kevin, sir.”

  “Kevin, do you think anyone here can stop me from doing anything that I want to do?”

  “I,” Kyle gulped audibly. “I am just following orders, sir.”

  “Kyle, do you know what trumps the orders of men in suits sitting comfortably behind the facade of safety they call a headquarters?” I growled as the miasma from my daggers floated off the tips of the blades. I activated my Solaris ability’s shield as my hands began to glow bright orange. Kyle held his hands up to shield his face from the heat of the ability.

  “Power, Kyle. Power trumps those orders, and currently, I have more than anyone on this planet, so my friends will be attending this meeting. Now, lead the way.”

  Kyle stumbled backward and fell to the ground before hurriedly regaining his composure and rushing toward the designated meeting space.

  “Jesus, Son! Was that completely necessary?” Dad asked.

  “Just setting expectations, Dad.”

  Tiff walked up and leaned over and whispered in my ear as I dismissed my armor. “I am definitely wearing that outfit for you tonight.”I chuckled as we followed Kyle away from the landing zone and into the bowels of the E.G.O facility.

  A few minutes later, we approached a set of double doors, and Kyle meekly directed us into the room. A group of seven sat behind a large, half-circle-shaped conference table, four women and three men. As we entered the room, my dad left our group and took the eighth chair. The contrast in his appearance compared to the rest of the Senior Representatives was stark. The other seven representatives wore business-appropriate attire that looked tailored and expensive. My Dad, on the other hand, was still in his overalls, his hands still blackened with grease from working on his tractor. The other seven members were mostly international, though that didn’t matter much anymore. We were all citizens of Earth now, and international barriers had mostly been dissolved.

  “Captain Dawes.” An older man with an English accent greeted me as I stood in front of the group with Tiff and Matty. “I hope I can assume that there was a pressing matter that needed our immediate attention? Especially if you brought a Phylaxian and a civilian into this meeting chamber without prior approval?”

  I stiffened at the words before Tiff gently put her hand on my arm to calm me. “Representative…Clifton? Is it?” I asked, reading the placard in front of the man’s seat.

  “Yes, that is correct,” He nodded self-righteously.

  “I came to share sensitive information with the senior representatives of the E.G.O., information that could affect humanity and Earth in the weeks to come. I understand that the presence of Tiffantrimore and Matty is a surprise, but I felt it necessary to bring them.”

  Representative Clifton adjusted his glasses and flipped through some papers in front of him. “Captain Dawes. While we are grateful for what you have done for Earth to this point, I feel it is only fitting to inform you that not all of us agree with the methods you have employed. You, sir, have proven to be reckless and short-sighted. You are not a trained soldier, officer, or military strategist, yet you seem to command a vessel that is more advanced, or on par with any space-faring vessel that we have seen to this point. You can see how that would give us a modicum of trepidation when it comes to putting our faith in you, yes?”

  I clenched my jaw and looked at my dad, who nodded in response. He was telling me to stay calm and play their game, but it was not a game I needed to play. “Representative Clifton. Do you know where Earth would be if not for me, my crew, and the ship that you don’t seem to think should be mine?”

  “Well, I can’t say that I can answer that exactly, Captain Dawes. There are variables,” Clifton stumbled over his words.

  “Variables?!” I was done with this game. “Let me tell you about some of those variables, Representative Clifton. I was faced with many of those variables, as you put it. Trimeans, Rereks, Lycoans, Lacertines, and a singular Mulhaz Enforcer General,” I stepped closer to the representatives, who were now shifting in their seats, uncomfortable. “Do you know what happened to those…variables? as you put it?”

  “I have, in fact, read your file, Captain Dawes. I am aware of the bravery you showed in the face of unimaginable odds.” Clifton replied meekly.

  I activated my armor and stepped closer again, summoning my daggers. “I killed them, Mr. Clifton, “I motioned to Tiff and Matty. “They killed them. Matty here lost a brother to these variables, as you put it. We killed them all, and I will continue killing anything or anyone that threatens my planet, my people, my family, “ I stepped up and leaned on the desk in front of Clifton, “Or my friends.”

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  A group of six soldiers ran into the conference room wearing some sort of battle armor, holding plasma rifles. Clifton raised a hand to them, “At ease, Captain Dawes here was just about to get to the point of this meeting. No cause for alarm.” The soldier at the front of the formation opened his visor and stared at me. It was hard to tell, but it looked like he was smiling before he motioned his team to the space behind the seated representatives.

  “Captain Dawes, while we could posture and argue all day, I really must ask that you get to the point,” Clifton said, straightening in his seat.

  “I have been summoned to a meeting with Calista Solaris. I cannot decline and have agreed to meet at a location of my choosing. I felt it was pertinent information as it might affect Earth as a whole.” I stepped back and disengaged my armor.

  “While I appreciate your being so forthcoming, I must ask, why the sudden change of heart? Last we heard from your father, you were under the impression that you didn’t need the E.G.O.’s permission to go galivanting around the galaxy, putting our planet at risk.”

  “I still believe that. You people have no idea what is out there. You can’t begin to imagine the power these beings possess, and what lengths they are willing to go to, just to ensure that a species they deem insignificant doesn’t rise to power.”

  “We have no idea because you have been unwilling to share any intel with us, Captain Dawes. We don’t know how you came into possession of your ship and armor. We don’t understand how the other members of your crew gained power. We understand nothing because you will share nothing.”

  “Representative Clifton, with all due respect, I saw what people in power did with that power before the Drop. I will be damned if I am going to be the one to allow it to happen again. When the time is right, when I feel that I can trust the E.G.O. to use the knowledge responsibly, I will share it. Until then, you all need to focus on planetary defense. You have ships now; they won’t be enough if another species suddenly decides they want our planet, but they are a start. Me and my crew will handle the real threats, and you all are just gonna have to trust us to do that.”

  “What other choice do we have, Captain Dawes?” Clifton snapped.

  “None. For now.” I said resolutely.

  “Son, we do have one request,” Dad spoke up.

  I looked in his direction, surprised. We hadn’t discussed any requests on the trip here. “What kind of request?”

  Dad stood up and walked to the group of armored soldiers standing behind the desk. “These men and women are the best Earth has to offer. We acquired this Lacertine battle armor off the ships we got as part of your deal,” Dad knocked on the shoulder of one of the soldiers. “Now, we had to modify it since it was made for lizards, but we feel pretty good about the end result. These are currently our best, most highly trained assets. We want you to allow them to go with you.”

  “Go with us? We didn’t discuss this, Dad.” I replied.

  “No, we didn’t, Son. This is E.G.O. business, and discussing classified information with a civilian would have endangered Opsec.”

  I sighed and shook my head. “You people really don’t get it, do you? I am the only reason you are all sitting here today. Any relevant information that could help me needs to be shared with me.”

  “Isn’t that a two-way street, Son?”

  He had a point, but I wasn't ready to put my trust in bureaucrats just yet.

  “Look, these people will follow your orders; they understand the chain of command, and if you allow us to bring you into the E.G.O. officially, it will help, but if not, you can still trust that they will follow your orders.” Dad walked over to me and put his hand on my shoulder. “Son, I understand what you are feeling, but you can’t do all this on your own. These people can help. At a minimum, they are numbers, and from what you’ve told me, you need numbers.”

  I looked at the five armored soldiers and sighed. “On a trial basis only.” I relented. I walked back to face Clifton, “Understand this, though. If they end up being dead weight, I will dump them like dead weight. I don’t have time to babysit, and everyone out there plays by a different set of rules.” I looked at the soldier who had smiled at me earlier. “Be on the Bloodhound at 0700 tomorrow. I will let Natasha know to expect you. Find your own ride and don’t be late.”

  “Son, wouldn’t it be easier just to take them in the Pup?” Dad asked.

  “Yes, it would, for the E.G.O.” I stared directly at the lead soldier again. “If you can’t manage to get into orbit, then you aren’t capable of assisting me on this mission, understood?” The soldier tensed and slapped his rifle against his chestplate. I wasn’t E.G.O., and he couldn’t salute me, but I got the gist.

  “We appreciate your willingness to bring us in on this…” Clifton began.

  “Stop.” I looked at him sharply. “I don’t like you, Clifton. Let me be very clear about that. I don’t like any of this,” I motioned around the room, “But I understand the necessity of it. “I did this as a favor to my dad, and it will not happen again, no matter how much I love him. This was the E.G.O.’s one use of the family card:” I motioned to Tiff and Matty, and we all started to walk out of the room. “You’d better use it wisely.”

  We made our way back to the Pup and entered the rear cargo bay. Dad would be a few more minutes, I assumed, so we would just wait until he was done. “Natasha, prepare to receive five more passengers at 0700 tomorrow. If they are one minute late, turn them away. Is that understood?”

  “Oh my, I love when you get all fired up, Captain!” She replied.

  “Just Captain? No, sweety, sweet baby, sweetheart?”

  “I am hard at work on tracking Elvis’s signature. We made an arrangement, and I intend to honor it. After I succeed, I will call you things that will have you begging for more.”

  “Fair enough, Natasha. A deal’s a deal.”

  “Do you think we can trust ‘em, Cap?” Matty asked.

  “I don’t know, Matty, but I know we can break ‘em, and they are gonna get their first taste of that bright and early tomorrow. As soon as the rest of the crew comes through the Tower portal, we need to get up to the Bloodhound and prep to leave orbit. If we’re lucky, they won’t be able to get to us by the designated time. The ball’s in their court now, let’s see what they do with it.