Commander Grev sat in a polished, high-back, black chair in his council chamber. The view of the Ramesian fleet was below him. He did not see any sign that the fleet knew he and his people were behind the planet's small moon, watching them. He smiled; his disks were successfully cloaked out of sight.

A sharp buzz sounded, echoing through the control room; the light flashed at the side of the door, showing that someone was waiting for him outside his council chamber.

Pausing a moment to let whoever was outside his door wait, he looked one last time out the window at the fleet. "Come in," he called. There was a slight growl in his voice. He hated speaking with his men. They were beneath him, merely puppets to do his bidding. He also didn't like to be bothered.

The door slid open, and one of the soldiers stepped in. There was a nervousness about his features. Commander Grev lifted a brow. "What is it?" he demanded with no warmth in his tone.

The young soldier swallowed, his nervousness turning to fear. He had bad news, and that news could get him killed, just for delivering it. "Sir, we have lost contact with the scout ship," he reported meekly. The man was fearful. Afraid of what his leader might do upon hearing the bad news. His leader was not a patient man, nor forgiving.

"Where was the scout shuttle last seen?" Commander Grev demanded. He hadn't given an order yet. That would make the young soldier emotionless. He liked it when they were fearful. It fed his feeling of power. He had power and control of his people, and he enjoyed it. It was intoxicating.

The young man took a step back. "Their last known location was in a ravine near the largest dome. We lost contact with them this morning, sir. A second scout went to investigate. They found their ship, but it was empty. Their clothes were in piles, along with their weapons."

Commander Grev stood up. His eyes were hard. "Who was the leader of that mission?" he demanded. The soldier backed away another step. The young soldier's fear began to escalate.

"Nevle led the scout ship that went to investigate the missing shuttle, sir. The leader of the missing crew was Krem, sir." The young soldier swallowed hard, unable to contain his fear. He didn't know which mission the commander was asking about. It could be either the missing ship or the ones investigating it. "Scout Leader Krem. He is one of our best scouts," he offered, trying to lower Commander Grev's anger. It backfired.

Commander Grev slammed a gloved hand onto the shiny black table, cracking a small screen embedded in the surface. "I know who he is! He is our best scout!" he yelled. "He's too good a scout to be seen."

The young soldier backed against the wall; there was no longer any space to move back. His commander was getting even more volatile than he normally was. The fact that he had a missing scout team and an abandoned scout ship made his mood even more dangerous. Anyone in the room with him could be subject to his wrath, regardless of whether they were involved or not.

Commander Grev went around the table and left the council room, leaving the young soldier standing in fear.

Grev headed to the bridge. He needed to scan the fleet to make sure they weren't prepared for war. If they were, he knew that it was going to be difficult to take control of the fleet.

The young soldier reluctantly followed Commander Grev. The soft tapping of their boots on the polished floors echoed through the corridors as they rushed to the bridge. He could barely keep up with his leader.

As soon as Grev entered the bridge, all the men on the bridge stood up and stood at attention. Their features went slack, preparing for their orders. Commander Grev didn't have any orders to give them yet. He was there because he wanted a better view of the fleet. He didn't trust his puppets to look for him.

Looking at the tight formation of Ramesian battle cruisers, Grev saw nothing that showed they were aware of the Kreq's presence. They were silently floating in the same formation as when they had arrived. Nothing appeared to have changed.

Commander Grev, turning to one of the men at the control panel. "Scan the fleet. Do they have their shields up?" he ordered.

The man at the control panel pressed the screen stiffly, following his order to scan the fleet. Words trailed across a small monitor. "We do not detect the shields, sir." The officer responded.

"Is it covered by a barrier? They use plasma. Scan for plasma," he ordered. His voice was hard. He was becoming even angrier. It didn't make sense that there would be no shields if they captured his scout team.

The officer at the control panel worked his controls, his fingers rapidly sliding over the screen. When he finally stopped, he gave his report. "There is a plasma shield surrounding the fleet, sir," the man reported. "Each ship has a secondary plasma shield as well." The report had shown that there were two layers of protection for the Ramesian fleet.

Commander Grev stared at his subordinate. "How long have the shields been activated?" he barked out. His anger was growing rapidly. Several of those on the bridge struggled not to flinch. Commander Grev was known for striking his subordinates down without notice or cause. When he was angry, someone normally died.

"We don't know, sir. This is the first time we've scanned the ship for shields. It could have been activated before we arrived." The young soldier was nervous. He knew bad things could happen when his commander was unhappy, and he was currently the closest one to his leader, making him the most likely target.

"Scan the domes!" Commander Grev ordered. His face was darkening with anger. If they knew they were there, all their plans were for nothing. The Ramesians were stronger than they were, and their technology was better. It would be difficult to win a fight with them.

The officer's hands flew across the control panel in front of him. Once they stopped, his face paled. He didn't want to respond, but had no choice. "Commander, Sir. The domes have a secondary blast shield activated."

Commander Grev stalked over to the officer. Fear crossed the young officer's features as his commander approached.

Grev looked down at the control panel, ignoring the officer, and saw the domes. The secondary blast shield glistened in the sun's light. It was obvious that it was there. He could clearly see blast shields surrounding the domes. "Those shields were not there before. There was only the standard plasma barrier. They know we're here," he grated out.

Commander Grev sharply turned on his heels and stormed out, heading for his council chamber. He needed a new plan. Clearly, the Ramesians knew they were there. He was surprised that Council Leader Tosh went to such an extent to protect the people. It was out of character for the Ramesian leader that he knew.

Grev had made a deal with Tosh. The deal was that Tosh would invade the blue planet for Grev, and in exchange, he would give Tosh the serum to take control of his entire population. Of course, during the process of making the deal, he left out the part where he would destroy the Ramesians after Tosh completed his end of the deal.

When he entered the council chamber, he went to his favorite chair and sat heavily down. Looking out the window at the fleet below, he didn't see any evidence that they knew. The shields couldn't be seen. Now he knew they were there, yet he still couldn't see them.

After thinking about it for a while, he didn't understand why the only evidence that showed they might know they were being watched was the shields around the fleet and the blast shields around the dome. He knew the sheilds hadn't been there prior, so they had to have known. He could think of no other explanation.

Slamming his fist on the communications panel, he called for a second scout team.

"I need a scout team to go to the surface and see what you can find out. I want to know if they appear like they are preparing for battle!" he demanded. It was an order, making the one on the other end stiffen and become monotone, following orders exactly as the serum was designed to make them do. "Don't be seen, or you will all die!"

After the man on the other end of the communications closed the link, Commander Grev looked down at the shielded fleet. He had to make alternative plans. If the Ramesians knew they were there, he wasn't sure what to do to finish what he had started.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.