21:45, August 3 2298 (standard military calendar)

LOCATION 30985, FORMER UEC MILITARY STAGING AREA

UEC HEAVY BATTLE CARRIER – 798 "SPIRIT OF ENDURANCE"

Barnes looked out from his personal observation deck. The debris field from Operation Trebuchet, his father's final mission that ended in disaster – and his death. It was nearly 20 years until they found the debris field, it was in the Nehoric Expanse, the only staging area outside of their galaxy, it was to get behind enemy lines undetected, and it failed horribly. Destruction of all UEC ships, the Jakarta was blown up from a nuclear bomb – on the inside of the ship, destroying the entire front of it. The crew died from oxygen deprivation, and being thrown about a room. His father had to have a closed casket funeral, while others didn't, as they were sealed in a giant casket in space, void of oxygen, so they never decomposed.

He glanced down at the pistol laying on the table, he was waiting for his XO Jarvin. Barnes had heard that he was a turn coat – after a large battle he left. His past was about to come up and bite him in the ass. Part of his file was redacted – claiming to be classified on personal matters – in his own ideas, on a ship in the middle of the expanse, there was no such things as personal. Not a single secret stays quiet, it travels through the ship like a wildfire. There was a knock on the door, and Jarvin walked in, completely oblivious of the situation.

"You wanted to see me Sir?"

"Yes. About some interesting accusations. You know my father was killed on that ship. The Jakarta a powerful ship, it was crippled during a surprise attack, and nuked from the inside."

"Sir?"

"From what I have seen on your record, most of your file is redacted, classified because of certain things. Your family was from Harvest, during the early days of the war, you were even raised their yourself. I managed to decipher your file. You stole a shuttle a year after the attack, signed up for the Navy as a contact, you had more experience with the ESU than any officer in the fleet. 20 years of service to them, 20 years of service to us. Per your records, you lead the team and I quote found the In Amber Clad. It took one jump to find it, as it drifted for twenty years, a damn near impossible feet." Barnes looked at Jarvin and saw what he was getting at, his eyes were off of him, and he was looking straight at the ground. "The black-box even recorded a younger you on board the ship, twenty minutes before the nuke was detonated. Do you mind explaining yourself?"

"Sir, if you're asking if I killed..."

"I'm asking whether your loyalty is to me or the ESU."

"My loyalty will always be with you, Sir. No one else. I left the ESU Military a year after the attack, because I couldn't do anything to stop it, and because of the massacre on Teranna Prime."

"Is that true?"

"Yes. Now I don't know why your questioning my loyalty."

"Because you received a encoded message from a unknown location several hours before the attack on Drexicon." Jarvin knew that his past would catch up to him, just not in this kind of manner.

"Sir I can explain."

"And from what I could see the location it came from was straight from Harvest, the ESU Government Colony. So, did you sell out the fleet or not? Kellen after going over the ships data logs that they sent to us, showed they were infected using a computer virus, that made it straight past their defenses, and command codes, and we all share a network key."

"No I did not, Sir."

"Then what did you questioningly receive?"

"It was from my sister. My daughter was killed when she tried to defect."

"And that communication could have given away our presence."

"It was encoded, using a key I sent, it looked like it was ESU."

"I know. But – having communications with them looks bad on your part. I don't know if I can trust you. I don't trust a Ini."

"I'm not a Ini."

"Well I don't see if you are one or not. I'm having you restricted to quarters until further notice pending court martial."

"What?"

"What?"

"Because you illegally communicated with an enemy colony, without authorization."

"And that is a court martial?"

"It is, considered treason, I might as well throw you out an airlock myself."

"You wouldn't."

"I would."

"Is this because of your father? I have known you for six years now, and you never seemed to be bothered by and other turn coats?"

"Because most left out of fear, you left because of cowardice, if I was raised ESU, I would have stayed, because its more in your nature to kill those who disagree, and the nurturing of your parents affect you later."

"Oh, is that what you're thinking, nature vs. nurture sir?"

"Yes."

"Well then you are lost. I left him alive, hoping that they could disable the nuke."

"Why, because you felt bad that they would blow up, few people think of that."

"Because I was doing what my family wanted, a young soldier in the military, I would be a third generation ESU soldier, proud, but it eventually became clear to me, that they are the ones who are truly lost, afraid of not being free!" Barnes smirked at the remark, and Jarvin looked surprised with that.

"I've known you for seven years Lance, and for one thing, I know. But I still can't trust you, but I want to know, will you be willing to put a bullet in your mouth, or go back and join them?"

"Bullet to the head, I would fight them until they kill every one of us."

"That's what I though. Dismissed."

"Maybe we can grab a drink of scotch over this, John."

"Maybe. I also have never heard you defend yourself like that. When I had to arrest you for adultery, you just were like Yes, I did have sex with that women, it was complete opposite of what Bill Clinton said in the 1997. It still feels like new news, even though it happened three hundred years ago,"

"Seriously, your comparing me to Monica Lewinsky?"

"No, Bill Clinton. The worst damn president to ever rule the United States. You know that's why we got rid of democracy all together, the media, and the people controlling things got out of hand."

"Yep, like Trump in 2016 election, how Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump were shit slinging each other for three years, and how the news was lying." Barnes and Jarvin both got a laugh out of it. "I mean hell, the ESU are the worst government, Communism, and it barely even works. They're more totalitarian, they have no rights, hell even conscription, while we have basic human rights, and morality."

"The ESU, is like Soviet Russia, and Nazi Germany combined, and we are like the United States of America, but with a more iron fist. I mean we still have free elections, and representation. But we are considered a Republican Authoritarian Government." Like always, Barnes and he had always been knocking heads together, fighting, often over differences that set them apart. It was the main reason that he selected him for 1st officer. Barnes knew what was on that transmission he received, it was sent to one of their outer communication arrays, viewed, encrypted using both UEC and ESU telecommunications, and relayed to several others before arriving. He had to test his loyalty – as always.

"I know you always have my back, and I know you were against it. You don't seem like the man who would let a person detonate a nuke onboard ship. Hell, sometimes I even wonder if you can harm a fly."

"I can do more than that, I just didn't expect you to do that to me. My last CO did the same thing to me – but yours was almost real, for a moment I thought you were going to throw me out of a airlock. You've changed these past few months – more hardened, and I think you are capable of throwing anyone out of a airlock on this ship."

"That's the reason Lance, is because I need you: more than ever. Someone did give them our security codes, it's the reason they can easily pass through all the security barriers, and disabled our ships. Kellen did find that the transmission that was sent was using your same carrier frequency – but it had a different signature, and it came from this ship. I need all eyes and ears on the crew. You're my go to man."

"I understand sir. Do you think its Kellen?"

"No, she served under me during boot, and my second and third tour. Plus, why would she tell me." Jarvin looked at all the evidence, if they did have a traitor on the ship, it would be a security officer, or a comms officer, and they have dozens on the ship. "Use whatever you need."