"Jewels, we're approaching the fleet," Lionel announced from the nav-station.
"I see them."
"Incoming feeds from the squadron leaders," Tyler called.
The vid screen split into four panels. She noted with surprise that General Zenath, General Hinson and Colonel Manroe each occupied a panel with a view of the enemy fleet remaining in the center panel.
"Oh, hello." Jewels was a little intimidated by the three men. They all outranked her. She would have come to attention, but the interface chair didn't allow for movement. "We are here, sirs."
"We are yours to command," General Zenath spoke first. The other men nodded.
Jewels couldn't hide her surprise this time. Her mouth fell open. "Me?" she squeaked. "I don't know anything about spacecraft and fighting!"
"Perfect time to learn. Besides, you know more than you think," Manroe replied cheerfully.
Jewels grimaced and closed her eyes. Her head was starting to pound. She almost asked for something to relieve the headache, and stopped when realization dawned. This headache wasn't a stress headache, but rather, a ' data dump' headache. She glared at the screen.
"You just gave me the knowledge, didn't you, Colonel Manroe?" Her eyes narrowed in fury at the Colonel's high-handedness.
"You will do fine. Like they say, 'knowledge is power,' so use it wisely, Lieutenant."
Jewels pondered the situation and, after a moment, had a strategy. "Here is what we need to do. Split off and try to draw two enemy ships each. Will our weapons do the job, Sir?" Jewels looked at Manroe.
"Yes. And more. Show no fear and no mercy," Manroe advised her.
"As much as this chitchat is inspiring, they're coming!" Jeremy interrupted.
"Evasive maneuvers!"
Jewels didn't have to be told twice. The ship responded to her mental commands and they swerved, avoiding the oncoming enemy fire.
"Return fire!" she ordered.
She was getting the hang of using the interface. It was like the simulators at the Psi-Ops training facilities. Jewels treated the vessel like it was her and she felt the shift in the ship's responses. It was the third pass that allowed them to destroy the dreadnought.
"Yes! Two more to go."
"Jewels, the Gatoan's flagship is in trouble!"
"Oh, no! Dex!" She ignored the yells of her crew as she violently slingshot them around an enemy ship and headed toward the two dreadnoughts firing on the Gatoan ship.
Jewels was seeing red. They were hurting him! She would protect Dex!
"Die, bastards!" The hum of the ship changed to a loud whine and then an energy blast roared from the Jewels II, slamming outward in every direction, hitting the dreadnoughts engaged by human ships. The explosions rocked the Jewels II and the rest of the human fleet veered to avoid the debris. The enemy ships firing on Dex's vessel were caught in the blast as well. The smaller dreadnought exploded while the one with red markings took only a glancing shot before veering away.
Jewels wasn't worried about anyone else. Her focus was on the Gatoan flagship. She maneuvered her ship in front of theirs.
"Arm weapons and prepare to fire," she snarled as she faced the last remaining dreadnought.
She was panting hard and the center had gone eerily silent.
"Jewels?" Jeremy stood and came to her side.
She didn't answer him. "On screen!" The current battlefield view was replaced by King Renten's face on the left and a giant wolf creature on the right.
"State your name so that I know what to write on your grave!" she snarled at the enemy.
::Jewels, calm down! Don't give him an advantage!:: Jeremy warned.
::I know what I'm doing. Trust me.::
The Lupine sneered. "You're the one the fuss is about? Unbelievable! I am Beta Lastbite. You may have won today, but you will see me again. You humans have made a mistake siding with our enemy. I will take pleasure in watching you fall when they do."
"Yeah, I'm sure you will. It won't be today. Don't come back. Oh, Beta Lastbite?" Jewels' smile was feral. She liked the fear she saw in the Lupine's eyes. "My name is Jewels Enbran-LoudRoar and if you ever cross my path again or try to kill my mate, you will die. Have a nice day." She terminated the vid-link. They watched as the dreadnought powered up its engines and shot off into space.
"Well, damn, Jewels!" Jeremy whistled.
"What? We have to be badder than him. Otherwise we're nothing. That's how wolf packs work on Earth at any rate. The alpha wolf enforces his will on the pack. Betas are secondary. He's not the one we have to worry about. It's the Alpha pulling his strings."
"True. But hey, let's get back to Earth and celebrate. And I happen to know of an anxious cat waiting to see you."
Jewels blushed. "Don't start, Jeremy!"
He held up his hand and laughed. "I wouldn't dream of it."
Jewels giggled and blushed when the other psionics erupted with cheers.
After the celebrating died down, she smiled. "Let's go home."
With only a thought, she turned the ship around and headed to Earth.