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"Two enemy galleys, closing in our bow from 332 degrees. Dirdelk Arhmed types." Petty officer Genndy told Colton from her place at a console. The noble stood on a walkway above the bridge crew who were working at their various consoles and the three who were at the helm.
"Sound general quarters. All hands prepare to engage and destroy hostile vessels." he commanded.
"Aye sir" the boatswain sounded the general quarters alarm and the crew ran to their various stations on the ship. Some manned the guns and missiles in fire control, while others scrambled to put on air tanks and protective gear in the damage control lockers. The flight crews put the interceptors on standby.
The officer of the deck received a call about six minutes later and picked up a phone receiver.
"All hands at their stations. Orders, sir?"
Lord Faulkner was silent for a moment.
"Helmsman. Hard left, come to course 330."
"Aye, m'lord. My helm is hard left, coming to course 330."
When the Little Filly made the turn, Colton could see two flickering lights in the distance.
At first they appeared to be moving stars until he could make out their hulls and the light from their engines propelling them.
Suddenly, four lights seems to detach themselves from the galleys.
"Four missiles inbound!" one of the crew members yelled.
"Stay the course. Let the CIWS (Close in weapons systems) deal with the missiles. All guns, standby for salvo. " Colton replied.
"Aye sir."
As the missiles closed the distance, bright red traces of light suddenly burst from the Little Filly and the missiles exploded, lighting up the bridge cameras. When the light cleared, the Arhmeds were close enough for to engage with missiles and the heavy cannons.
"Fire salvo, heavy cannon and cruise missiles."
The large turrets at the front of the ship rotated and the missile launchers along the side opened their pods. There were more bright flashes as the turrets and missiles fired. Lord Faulkner watched in fascination at the sheer amount of firepower the Little Filly could produce with only one salvo. Colton followed the trails of the rounds and missiles as they came down on his enemies in a hellish rain. Then, space was lit up with several distant explosions.
"One Arhmed destroyed sir, the other is heavily damaged and appears to be retreating."
Lord Colton's eyes became stern. "Don't let them escape."
Close to fifteen minutes later, the second dirdelk vessel was nothing but bits of melted metal and radioactive dust floating in space.
"Stand down from general quarters. Well done, everyone! That was the fastest time yet. Now let's get some rest and some chow in our stomachs before we make the next jump. OOD, you have the deck."
The simulator turned off and the cameras returned to real space. The bridge took over control of the ship from the combat information center. Colton walked down to his quarters and slumped into his chair behind a desk. Behind him on the bulkhead was a large painting of his ancestor Torquil Faulkner, leading a battered legion and refugees through space. The first Lord Faulkner carried the stallion banner and his eyes were raised while his soldiers and people following seemed downcast. Colton looked at the grey bearded old man and always thought he looked kind of angry. As a kid, he had actually been kind of scared of Torquil, though he had been laying in the family crypts now for over a century.
The noble leaned back in his chair and without realizing it, dozed off. It wasn't until Petty Officer Genndy knocked on his door to give him the position report and remind him that the ship was about to jump that he awoke. Yawning, he followed the petty officer back up to the bridge and sat down at his chair in the center that overlooked the bridge. The FTL drive began to charge up and then the Little Filly and her escorts disappeared into the distant void again.

...

The four ships appeared by the rings of an enormous blue gas planet after a series of more jumps. The radar and scanners reset themselves and began to pick up the various objects in the star system.
"M'lord, OOD. Jump successful. No contacts to report at this-wait. Several ships just entered the system. Various classes." Petty Officer Genndy announced. The officer of the deck peered over her shoulder. "They are a distance away, just beyond that asteroid belt. Looks like a fleet or a convoy. M'lord?"
"Your call, OOD. If they aren't suddenly diverting course or trying to make contact, they are of no threat to us." Colton replied.
The small Faulkner fleet continued on their way, aware of the other ships, but going as if they weren't there at all.

Petty Officer Genndy heard a beep at her console and picked up the receiver. She placed the phone to her ear. Colton noticed the red haired girl nod and then look up at him.
"M'lord? It's from the other fleet. He claims to be the admiral aboard the SWS Ares. He wishes to speak with you."
"Greeks then. We must be wary, m'lord." the OOD said sullenly.
"Let's not jump to conclusions, Lieutenant Boulder. Patch him through, Petty Officer."
"Aye sir." Genndy flipped a switch and a holographic screen flickered on next to Colton's seat.

Colton stood and bowed back.
"I am indeed Lord Faulkner and the honor is mine. As a boy, my teachers spoke of the mighty Spartans and mentioned the Apasiokos name."
Lord Faulkner rubbed his bearded chin.
"How may I or my strike force be of help to you, Admiral?"

Lord Faulkner wanted to yes almost instantly, but he knew that the Little Filly and the frigate escorts did not have the medical supplies nor the facilities available to bring any real relief to such a large population. Still, he couldn't just let them die out here. It wasn't the Faulkner way. However, he didn't have the supplies necessary to help them all.

"Admiral, I will need to consult my people on this matter. I hear your plight and will see what I can do. Give me two hours and I will get back to you with my answer." Colton replied.

As much as he wanted to help the Spartans, Lord Faulkner wasn't about to put the men and women under him in danger. The last thing he needed early in a voyage was a flux or something worse wearing them all down.

Lord Faulkner turned to Lieutenant Boulder.
"OOD, maintain this course like normal. Call me if anything comes up during my meeting. You have the deck."
"Aye, m'lord." the barrel chested officer replied with a smart salute.

Colton called his top men and women together in the wardroom. Roland sat next to him with a pad and stylus, ready to take down notes. Ser Greer sat on the other side of him, resting his chin on his hands thoughtfully. Ser Trask was a large man of African descent, who sat with his arms crossed. Dr. Aloysia Sutherland was there as well, her greying dark hair pulled into a bun and peering through her spectacles. Professor Barlow Brodie was currently overlooking something in engineering. Various other officers sat around as well. Perhaps they could provide some insight.
"Alright then, everyone. What's the plan here?"

They discussed it for close to an hour.
"I'm sorry, m'lord. But there is very little supplies I can give up without forcing us to resupply at a port. What I can give them wouldn't last them more than a week with the amount of people that are infected or could be infected. I have enough to keep our own people healthy for the duration of the voyage, but that's it."
Lord Colton nodded.
"I don't trust these Spartans." Ser Trask finally said in in his deep voice. "Something about all this seems shady to me. I say we go on our way and let them deal with their own problems."
Ser Greer raised an eyebrow. "That we could, but what could stop them from attacking and taking our supplies by force?"
"I think they would have done that already if that was their intent. Besides, Admiral Apasiokos looked legitimately worried." Colton replied.
The noble sat back and rubbed his beard.
"I've made up my mind. Dr. Sutherland?"
"Yes, m'lord?"
"We'll give them what we can spare. However, that is all we will give. Our health must come first, otherwise we won't be helping anyone else in the near future. Meeting adjourned. Roland, you may leave a copy of your notes on my desk."
All stood as Lord Faulkner left the wardroom and went back to the bridge.
"Thank you, OOD. Petty Officer Genndy, patch me through to the Ares. I will speak to the Admiral now."

Colton cleared his throat. "That I have, Admiral Apasiokos . We will spare you a few medical supplies, but we cannot give much. We have enough to last us a little longer than our intended voyage time. Unfortunately, we cannot spare much more. I regret that we simply do not have the supplies or facilities available to deal with a contagion on such a massive scale. I hope you understand, Admiral."

The noble wished he could do more to help, but there wasn't.

"Very well. We will divert our course to rendezvous with the Ares. Faulkner, out."
Colton switched off the transmitter.
Lieutenant Boulder seemed uneasy and Colton could sense it.
"Something wrong, OOD? You are free to speak your mind." the noble said with a nod.
The officer of the deck let out a heavy sigh.
"Are you sure this a good decision, m'lord? The Greeks can be sly sometimes. The Spartans especially don't have a very clean record."
"Nobody does, Lieutenant. Lord Galvin the Wicked exterminated a clan of druids during King Tristan's Conquest. That blood is always on Faulkner hands." Colton replied. "But if it calms your nerves, I'll have the weapons crews on standby and alert our escorts."
The Littly Filly made a wide turn and the Lucky Horseshoe, Bright Mane and Fast Lancer turned in unison with their flagship, keeping in perfect formation.

...

After a few hours, the fleets were in view of each other.