2893, on the edge of Minixian space and United Planetary Alliance Space

"We are approaching Minixian space, sir."

Methos looked up from the console in front of the chair he sat in and looked at the front of the bridge of the Hernandez. The bridge had six sides but was shaped like a house. Methos sat at the end of the row of stations in the middle of the bridge. To his left, three stations down, was his senior engineer, Michael Dupré. His own station was the science officer's station, and next to him was medical, only needed when any of the ninety members of his crew went out on missions on unexplored planets. Between medical and engineering was communications, where Harold Nason sat. At the front of the bridge, on the both sides of the window, were his tactical and navigation officers. They sat at their own consoles, checking monitors and pressing buttons. Other officers stood at the consoles along the back wall. It had been his navigation officer, Lauren Paulus, who had spoken.

"Shields at maximum, Mr. Stevenson," Methos said to his tactical and weapons officer. "Get missiles and laser guns ready for attack."

"Aye, sir." Stevenson said, already tapping away at his keyboard.

"Mr. Paulus," Methos said. The woman at navigation looked over her shoulder at him. "Plot a steady course through Minixian territory. Take us to light speed. We want to be out of Minixian space as soon as possible."

"Aye, sir."

They entered Minixian space. They were trying to get supplies to a colony, Lyca III, located in Alliance territory bordered off by Minixian space. The colony on Lyca III couldn't wait much longer for these supplies, and the crew was willing to get the supplies to them. Unless they wanted to go on a two-year trip around Minixian space, they had to go through it. If they failed to get the supplies across, other Alliance ships were prepared to risk going through Minixian territory.

Methos had been to Lyca III before the Minixians conquered the space in front of it. Even though that was almost four hundred years ago, it hadn't changed much, except it got larger and the races began to mix. He'd be on his way back to Earth after a wild six thousandth birthday celebration for the Algorian leader on Algoria, and the ship he was on stopped there for a few weeks. It reminded him of Egypt, or the Egypt that existed four thousand years ago.

The Minixians were conquerors, and before long they tried to capture the Lyca System. If it weren't for the supply ships heading out of the system, the Minixians would have suceeded. Ever since then, only a decade ago, Alliance ships have been on patrol along the Lyca System's borders. The Hernandez, Methos' ship, was supposed to relieve one of the ships of patrol duty when it got to the system. If they made it to the system.

Despite his six thousand years of life, Methos could feel goosebumps creep up his arms. Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself down. His fear was minor, because there wasn't a very big chance he'd die permanently in an explosion, unless his neck ran into a sharp object. He knew it was harder for the crew to suppress their fears. They could die and he couldn't, and they knew it. It had been over eight hundred years since the world found out about immortals but stories could be told, old newscasts could be watched, old papers could be read and books could be written. Methos knew The Gathering was taught in history classes to teenagers in Alliance high schools. He also knew Immortals were analyzed in science classes, and over the centuries he'd gotten many calls from school heads asking for blood or tissue samples. He also knew there was nothing he could do about it, unless he used the Prize and erased everyone's memories of Methos the Immortal. But he had decided to wait all of those centuries ago, and he wasn't about to change his mind.

A warning bell caught his attention. "Two Minixian ships are approaching from behind us, sir." Paulus called from her station.

"What range?"

"Ten AUs and closing, sir."

Methos stood up, no longer wanting to stay seated. Only one class of Minixian ships could outrun an Alliance ship at light speed. Even though he suspected who it was, he asked, "What class?"

Paulus's hands froze on the keyboards as she stared at her monitors. "Superior Class, sir."

The temperature in the room rose ten degrees. Even Methos began to look uncomfortable. Superior Class ships had enough power to blow a whole through a small asteroid, and the Hernandez was the size of a small asteroid.

"Mr. Dupré, give me visual." Methos ordered as he walked out onto the floor in front of his and Dupré's consoles. In the center of the carpeted floor was a large round projector set in the floor about eight or nine feet in diameter. After Dupré pressed some buttons on his keyboard, it projected a holographic image of the galaxy. The holographic image expanded until planets replaced stars. Soon, the Hernandez could be seen visibly from far away because of its white hull. As the Hernandez's image got larger, the darker hulls of two Superior class Minixian ships could be seen flying steadily closer to the Hernandez. Methos waved at Dupré, signaling that the image had been magnified enough.

"Are the shields still up and running, Mr. Dupré?"

"Yes, sir. They're up and running." He looked above the console to his captain. "Permission to leave the bridge?"

Methos nodded. "Permission granted."

One of the ensigns working at one of the wall consoles took her place at the main engineering console. Methos watched as Dupré exited through the sliding door on the left before turning back to the holographic image before him. He had a job to do.

The Minixian ship was gaining speed. A few seconds later, the collision alarm sounded. "Mr. Fernandez," he said to ensign now sitting at engineering. "Get rid of that aggravating noise!" He turned to the front of the bridge. "Mr. Stevenson," Methos said, addressing his tactical officer. Ben looked at him. "Get missiles ready for launch." He turned to Nason. "Mr. Nason," the man at communications looked up at him. "Any luck opening a channel with the Minixians?"

Nason shook his head. "None, sir."

Methos turned to Lauren. He hadn't expected the Minixians would want to talk, but regulation stated to try to reason with the enemy before opening fire on them. "Mr. Paulus, manuever around any weapons they throw at us."

"Aye, sir." She said with a bit of enthusiasm. She pressed a few buttons, and then the keyboard retracted under the monitors. A pilot yoke came out of the hole where the keyboard had once been. They were controls one would normally find in a space plane. In Alliance ships like the Hernandez, ship controls were on a touch-screen monitor. But Lauren preferred something she could grab onto.

The ship jerked to the right as one of the Superior Class ships fired. The bright light of the Minixian weapon zoomed by, headed on a course to oblivion. The Hernandez jerked to the left as another shot whizzed by. Another bright light came from the ship towards them. It hit their right wing as Lauren piloted the ship on its side. She cursed softly and went back to work.

"Damage report." Methos called.

"20% damage to our right wing, sir. We should be able to manuever for another thirty minutes, then we're going down." Fernandez at engineering answered.

Methos walked over to the Science station, where another crewmember, Jacklyn Dawson, sat. He pressed the button on the far right of the keyboard, opening a channel to engineering. "Mr. Dupré. How long before you can get us underway?"

"It'll take me forty minutes, sir, and we don't have that much time." Dupré said on the other end of the channel. In the background, Methos could hear air releasing rapidly from a pipe, and then a man's scream. "I've got to go, sir. O'Donnel's down."

The channel closed on the other end, and Methos closed the channel on his end. The ship rocked from side to side deadly. "Try to keep the ship from falling apart, Mr. Paulus."

"Yes, sir." Inwardly, Lauren cursed. She was normally better than this. But today, she knew the chances of survival were one to a million, and she felt as nervous as ever. She forced herself to calm and after whipping her sweaty palms on her olive green uniform, she went back to work.

One ship fired a series of shots as the other Minixian ship passed above the Hernandez. Lauren pulled back the wheel, making the nose of the ship go up, towards the ship overhead. It continued turning until it was upside down. No one on board noticed because of the ship's artificial gravity. The missiles followed her, the tracking devices planted inside them following the Hernandez's signature. As they turned to follow her course, however, they needed more room to turn. They burst through the hull of the Minixian ship above and detonated. It exploded into a burst of red fire, and Lauren hurriedly completed the turn. When the Hernandez had its nose pointed downwards, she stopped the ship from turning further and nose-dived the ship, steering it away from the blast long enough before pulling back up. The other Minixian ship, which had cruised as far away as it could from the debris of its sister ship, was now turning around to meet the Hernandez as it raced towards its location at light speed. Lauren steered the ship to the left as another missile flew by, then to the right, and then above. She continued to do this for a few more minutes.

"Mr. Stevenson. Fire missiles."

The missiles fired. They hit the Minixian ship's starboard and port sides and its top. It was enough to break through its shields, but only cause minor damage to its hull.

"Fire lazers." Methos called.

The lazers were their last line of defense. The Alliance started using them eight years ago, and the Minixians hadn't heard of them yet because they kept them secret, only to be used as a final option. They hadn't tested the beams against substances as hard as Minixian Laxol, so they didn't know if this was going to work. However, they had to stop a missile that was approaching rapidly from the Minixian ship.

The red lazer beam appeared from below in the ship's weapons room on the lower level. It shot out at the Minixian ship, slicing through the missile on its way. The missile exploded, causing the Hernandez's holographic image at the center of the bridge to form static. Crewmembers turned away from the window in the front, the sight blinding for their eyes. Others stared at the holographic image in the center, waiting for it to clear so they could see if the Minixian ship was gone or not. Thankfully, the Hernandez was far enough away so the static was the only damage the blast would cause.

After a moment or two, the fire disappeared, allowing them to see the holographic image clearly and to see through the window in front. The Minixian ship was blown to pieces. Laxol floated by the Hernandez. A few pieces bounced off of their shields, while others went through, crashing against the hull, then heading on a course away from the ship. The Hernandez rocked from side to side until it was spinning.

"Mr. Paulus." Methos said. The words were enough for the command to be understood.

Lauren steadied the ship, although it was much harder than usual.

"Damage report."

"Shields at 42%," Fernandez said. "Major damage to the hull and right wing."

Methos opened up a channel to the engine room again. "Mr. Dupré. How long before repairs are done?"

"At my highest pace, it'll take me two hours, sir, and that's time we don't have."

Methos looked over at Fernandez. "How long, Mr. Fernandez?"

"We have ten more minutes before we loose altitude, sir." Fernandez told him.

Methos felt like cursing in all of the languages he'd learned in his six thousand years, but ten minutes was too short even for that. He looked at the holographic image again. "Mr. Paulus, what's the nearest planet?"

"Revie six, sir."

Revie six, Methos thought, searching his memory. It was a planet with a small mining colony that mined what little metal could be found on the surface. The workers were peasants to Minixian warriors, and there was a chance they'd be welcome. "Plot a course."

"Aye, sir."

Lauren sounded casual to her own ears, but underneath, she was nervous. Ben, the tactical officer, wasn't fooled. He turned his chair to look at her back and whispered. "Are you okay?"

Lauren turned to him after she plotted the course, a look of bewilderment on her face. "Of course I'm not okay!" she whispered back. "We may die out here, and we came close to dying already!"

Ben said nothing to that, because he didn't know what to say. Deep down inside he could feel his own fear mounting up. He glanced at his captain, currently engaged in a conversation with Jacklyn. "I wonder if he's afraid?" he said.

Lauren glanced over at Methos too. "I don't know."

Meanwhile, Jacklyn had called Methos over from gazing at the holographic image of the universe as the Hernandez went by on whatever power the ship could muster. In both the image and the front window, Revie VI grew larger as they approached.

"I got some readings of the Minixian missiles as they attached." Jacklyn Dawson told him. "I managed to get a list of the elements it's made up of."

A list appeared on one of the monitors in front of them. "Most of the items are Minixian elements, while some are human in origin. All of them are very strong elements, and when combined they make a very nasty weapon. They match the elements mixed in with the Laxol hulls of Minixian ships, and are used in crucial parts in their structures."

Methos felt like smiling. He had taken an interest in Jacklyn, like he had with all of her ancestors, and she was proving to be a wonderful descendant of Joe Dawson, a mortal Methos once knew. He looked over Jacklyn's head. "Mr. Nason." Methos said. Harry looked up. "Inform Alliance headquarters that we've found a way to beat the Minixians."

"With pleasure, sir."

During these few minutes, the tension and fear in the room seemed to evaporate. But, unfortunately, the fear came back when Revie VI became too large to be seen completely through the front window. Eight minutes had gone by, and they had only two minutes to try to land the ship. Lauren knew it wasn't enough for any landing. She would have to make it enough time, or they were all dead.

The ship jerked unsteadily to the right. They had been leaning to that side the entire trip, but just now it was becoming noticeable. The ship's gravity malfunctioned, leaving them floating in the air for a few seconds before it was restored. They began to enter the planet's atmosphere.

"Mr. Dupré," Methos began, opening another channel to engineering.

"Sorry, sir. The Gravity producers had burst. We've managed to fix it, but it'll hold for only a few minutes."

That was all the time they had. Lauren held steady to the controls as the ship dived. The Hernandez bumped violently against air turbulence. It was hard to control the ship with only one wing. The ship went downwards, twisting and turning out of Lauren's control. All she was worried about was finding a place to land. There! An ocean appeared below. Lauren tried as best as she could to steer it in that direction, trying to bring the ship up so it would land bottom-first. The ship continued to rock violently all the way there.

The ship crashed into the water, causing the windows along the bridge to crack. Methos called engineering and told them to bring steel sheets to cover them and every other window in the Hernandez. A few seconds later, three teams appeared, and Ben and Lauren got out of the way for the team who was working on the front window. Once all three windows were secured, the engineers left.

The ship didn't go far under the water. It was much shallower than Lauren had thought. The hologram in the center of the bridge showed the ship's nose was stuck in sand, while the back of the ship was sticking out of the water. They were a few miles from land. The shore was surrounding by swaying green trees. Methos thought they looked like pine and pecan trees.

He opened a channel to engineering. "Mr. Dupré, everything okay back there?"

"No, sir." Michael said on the other end. "Four of the crew-well-four of the crew are-are-" Methos could hear him gulp. "They're dead, sir."

The bridge fell silent. Methos sat in the chair at the medical console. "Who, Mr. Dupré?

"Lieutenant Charles Campbell," Michael said. "Ensign Marley Peterson."

Lauren covered her mouth to prevent a gasp from escaping, while Ben looked like he was ready to burst out into tears. Jaclyn felt speechless. Marley had been Lauren's and Jacklyn's friend, while Charles was Ben's best friend.

"Lieutenant Christine Guidry. Ensign Nathaniel Lawrence."

Jacklyn felt sick. Christine was her best friend, while Nathan had been Christine's boyfriend. Her own boyfriend was Garry Jenison, who was on the bridge right now. Charles, Marley, Lauren, Ben, Jacklyn, Garry, Christine, and Nathan would often go out on quadruple dates. At least they had before.

Garry put his hand on Jaclyn's shoulder while Methos looked the other way. Jacklyn looked up at him. Four of their friends were gone, and neither was in a good mood.

"How many injured?" Methos asked.

"Around twenty, sir. All but six will be able to begin work immediately."

Methos stood up and walked to the center of the bridge once more. The holographic image still showed the coast next to the ship. "Mr. Stevenson, get a security team and meet me at the starboard air lock." He said as he walked towards the back doors on the right. "Mr. Dawson and Mr. Paulus, come with me."

Jacklyn and Lauren stood up and followed him off the bridge. They climbed the once level hallway, passing windows that displayed water, and finally, sunlight. They passed engineering underneath them. Some of the red pipes were cracked, while engineers were patching up other pipes. Lauren and Jacklyn thought they could see Dr. Quentin Thomas helping a medical team load a body on a cart. Both looked away to keep from seeing whose body it was. They kept climbing until they reached the end of the ship, where the air lock was. Ben appeared from around the corner after getting his security team. All of them were tired, but they started deflating a raft right away. When it was blown up, they got in and set for the shore.

The water wasn't very deep for the ship. But it was for a plastic raft filled with six crewmembers. They took turns rowing to the shore that got closer and closer.

The beach was barren of Minixians, civilians or warriors. Methos motioned toward a path leading through the forest. "Put your lazer pistols away. Stay in sight. We want the locals to know we don't want to fight.

"Do you think that's wise, sir?" Ben asked.

Methos looked at his crew. "If memory serves correctly, there's a mining colony nearby that mines Jaxine, a Minixian metal used in their ships' designs. There aren't any warriors here. Just civilians."

"Or peasants to the Minixian overlords." Ben said, his disgust apparent in his voice.

Jacklyn was near the brink of control herself. She'd grown up in an honest family, and they believed that everyone was created equal. It angered her that not all people thought the same way.

"Considering the conditions the overlords force them to live in, They may not hate us as much as the Minixian warriors do." Methos said.

They walked down the dirt trail. It was wide enough for a hover car to fly in, but was covered with tracks made by wagons and animals. It reminded Methos of many different places in his long life. The animal tracks resembled horses shoes, but a piece was cut from the front of these shoes in a small v-shape. He wandered what the animals looked like.

The party came to the end of the trail and walked into an open field. Before them was the village. It's buildings were made of were made of Jaxine and wood. They were shaped in circles. The wooden buildings' boards were laid vertically next to each other, and were up to eight feet high. Their roofs were made of straw or Jaxine. There were beasts grazing everywhere in the field. They looked like goats but had three horns, two between the ears and one on the nose. Their hooves matched the footprints on the trail.

Bells rang and they could hear shouting as they approached the village, probably warning the villagers of outsiders. As they walked through the gates boarding the city, Minixians were walked to them farther off in the city.

(unfinished)

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