"This is Warrior Three to Beta Four, do you copy?"

"This is Beta Four . We copy. Over."

"We are near your boundary and are seeking immediate escort. Over."

"Roger that. We got the orders. Sending in Alpha Nine through Alpha Thirteen as escort. Over."

"Roger that, Beta Four. Over and out."

***

I saw four planes approaching us from the distance. After a few minutes, I could see the Vortex-Crux livery on them and their jet names written on their sides.

"Crew, attention please. In a few minutes we will be entering airspace where there is heavy enemy presence. All personnel must be strapped to their seats. Over and out."

I saw as we zoomed past a huge ship with B4 written on its' side. Beta Four was assigned to maintain control and command near the Prometheus ships and was also authorized to issue and carry out any orders near its' vicinity.

"This is Beta Four, confirm escort jets have arrived."

"Warrior Three to Beta Four, escort jets have arrived. Thank you."

"Roger that. Beta One has requested to forward their message to you. They say that they are very close to getting permission from the Kenjah's forces for your entry into Prometheus One. They also have advised that in case of breakdown of talks, you will be required to turn around and head back to Beta One immediately."

"Roger that, Beta Four."

"Please be advised that Charlie Ten is in the vicinity sweeping the area and setting up mines. Please keep a look out. Beware of the mines."

"Roger that. Thanks for the info."

"All the best, Warrior Three. Beta Four, over and out."

***

We made our way towards Prometheus One without any kind of contact with the Kenjah's men. We saw Charlie Ten silently sweeping the place and planting the mines to trap the Kenjah's jets if necessary. It was about an hour before we started to slow down and we finally stopped. I could see two small white dots far away, which I presumed to be Prometheus One and Prometheus Three. There were several jets with the Kenjah Army's livery circling the area.

"Beta Four to Warrior Three, you have go ahead from Beta One. Proceed towards docking area thirty one on Prometheus One. Schematics have been sent to you. Please use manual docking procedure. Approach Prometheus One with extreme caution. Your escort cannot go any further. You are supposed to be escorted by Hunter Three and Hunter Four. They will take you to the docking area. You are also not allowed to fire upon them unless you are fired upon first."

***

What I saw as a small white dot soon became a huge ship with windows on its' sides. The ship was huge and you could see the signs of a struggle. There were a few portions of the ship where you could see the damage caused when the Kenjah's men fired on the ship. Prometheus Three, which was just a bit more far away, seemed to have suffered more damage than Prometheus One. We circled Prometheus One once and made our way to the docking port on the other side of the ship. We slowly moved closer towards the ship, preparing for docking. I could not see our escorts now, they presumably were above us. Finally, our jet made contact with Prometheus One and we waited for the pressure to equalize.

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, the doors opened and we could see about ten soldiers wearing the Kenjah's Army's uniform standing there with weapons. Apart from them, I could also see five soldiers, wearing an outfit I have never seen before standing there, staring at us. They too had weapons but not the kind of weapons I saw till date. That's when I noticed that there was something written on their uniforms. It read "Human Peacekeeping Force". A soldier, who seemed like the leader of the peacekeeping force walked towards us and extended his hand. "It's an honor meeting you, Captain Rithvik. We are so glad to be able to have you here with us." He said, smiling.It was the first time in a long time we met another fellow human other than our crew and there was some sort of happiness which I couldn't explain."My name is Captain Aditya Patel. I have been sent by our head peacekeeper to welcome you on board Prometheus One." He said. "Welcome, Captain Reneesh. And this must be Captain Holder from the... other side." He continued. "Thank you, Captain Aditya." I replied, and so did Reneesh and Holder. For the first time, I began to notice the minute differences between the humans and the aliens. For one, most of them were taller than the humans. They had pointy eyes and ears and their fingers were unusually long too. "Drop all your weapons here." A soldier with the Kenjah's army ordered. The soldiers frisked us and they found the laser guns Montwik had given to Reneesh and I and confiscated them too. Soon, the frisking and the checks were done and we were allowed to go with Aditya, who informed that we were going to the head peacekeeper and that we then be addressing a public gathering, in which we would be addressing the whole of Prometheus One but it would be broadcast all across Prometheus Three as well.

We went through a maze of corridors before we arrived at the Head Peacekeeper's office. Aditya informed us that only Rithvik, Reneesh and Holder would be allowed inside, which invited protests from Holder, who maintained that his soldiers were to be allowed inside. I could see where Holder was getting to. The aliens were at a minority for the first time. He had his own concerns about the safety of his men onboard this ship. "We were just concerned about our privacy. We have heard the rumors about spies running all around the place." Aditya replied. "I can assure you that none of my soldiers are spies. Trust me with that one." Holder said. "Alright, bring them in then." Aditya replied. He flashed his ID at a scanner next to him and the door hissed open. I could see a tall middle aged man with brown hair talking with someone in a similar peacekeeper uniform. "Sir, the crew of Orion Four and Orion Five are here." Aditya said, as he let us walk into the room. Finally, after everyone of us were assembled in the room, Aditya shut the door behind us. "Words cannot express how grateful I feel to see the crew of Orion Four and Five standing in front of me right now. You fine men have been through a lot and yet survived against all odds and look where you are now. And Captain Holder, we are very lucky to have the support of your group. All communications were ceased between your people who were living among us and your base at a certain time as we couldn't risk the Kenjah, as you call him, knowing about our plans. Can you confirm this, Captain Holder?" The head peacekeeper asked Holder. "Yes." He replied. "Glad to see that our request has been implemented then." He said. "My name is George Bennington. I am the first Head Peacekeeper after the people in a referendum voted against the Mission Orion head holding the administrative powers on the Prometheus ships. All the soldiers of the erstwhile the Orion Security Force were transferred to the new Human Peacekeeping Force with the exception of a few, who planned a revolt against this change. And yes, Captain Rithvik, Martin, the head of the Orion Missions when you left Earth, is still alive... barely. The person with whom you spoke when you were on the base was one of the people who was arrested and held down after the revolt was spearheaded by him. We cannot afford to have any more disturbances and problems than we already do on our hands. After the Mission Orion Panel fell, our administrative system came into force and the people have been more closely connected to the people than we ever were." George said. "Only if we could elect our representatives." Holder sighed. "In some ways, you were always better than we were. Sorry for interrupting, continue." He said. "No problem, Captain Holder. When our home was destroyed, we found ourselves at the mercy of your power, of your technology and most importantly of your wrath. We don't know why we were manipulated, why our people and killed, and mainly why we were being punished. But when we heard that a civil war had broken out between your forces and that of the Kenjah's, we realized we still could hope for at-least a future. I believe, that now even if we are being held by the Kenjah's forces, we are stronger than ever, not because we have your support Holder, well partly that, but not entirely. We are stronger than ever because we are being driven by the raw urge to survive. Humanity has come so close to extinction, but we still have hope left in us." George said.

If I was allowed to, I wanted to clap at that, but that kind of behavior is not encouraged by the forces, so I restrained myself. "Then what is our plan of regaining control of our ship?" I asked George. "Most of the HPF are down in the prison a few levels below ours. Our armory in under their control, but if we could get back our personnel and our weapons, taking their men out would be a cakewalk." He replied. "Then how did you manage to get captured in the first place?" Reneesh asked him. "They threatened to blow up our ships. We had to wait for them to arrive and confiscate our weapons and put our people down in the prison." He replied. "What different is it now?" Souvik asked. "This time, we have the Alpha Force with us. They are ready for an attack. As soon as the coast is clear, I could get down to Warrior Three and send out an encrypted message to Beta Four to authorize a strike." Holder said. "Excellent!" George exclaimed. "How are we going to stop the jets outside from blowing us up the second the hear about the struggle for power here?" A soldier asked. "Rithvik, remember the enhanced signal jammers Gofr's team created? The one we used when we dropped on the rescue mission?" Holder asked me. "We have a lot of catching up to do." George muttered. "Carry on." He said. "Yeah." I replied. "Guess what. Bolius arranged for it to be attached to Warrior Three just in case we needed it." Holder said, his face glowing. "That is terrific news." I replied. "How are we going to get the soldiers out in the first place?" I asked George. "Leave that one to me and my team." He replied, winking. "When do we want to start this? And what about Prometheus Three?" I asked. "We'll start is after your public speech. And leave Prometheus Three to me too." He replied.

____________________

Two full length updates in one day, how's that? xD

I spent my whole day writing, hope it was worth it!

PLEASE VOTE IF YOU LIKED THE CHAPTER. And as always, Constructive criticism is appreciated. The story is almost nearing its' end and I have a surprise for you guys regarding the sequel of this book. Thanks for your support.

-LPS21/ Rithvik.