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was followed by the dull thud of a hard knock on the insulated door. Becoming angry at the interruption, Ken walked over to the door and thrust it open. He had to look up to see his visitor’s face. “I’m a little busy Doug. Now is not a… ”
    “This is not a social call,” Doug interrupted pushing his way into the room.
    Stricklen closed the door with a little more force than was necessary. “What do you want?” he asked with barely controlled hostility.
    “You are out of line Captain!” Doug began using his most official tone of voice. “How much have you had to drink?”
    Ken was positively seething with anger. “What the hell has… ”
    “You are addressing a senior officer Captain. Atten-Hut!” Scarboro snapped. The command was automatically obeyed and Stricklen came to attention.
    “Your actions of late are unbecoming of an individual of your rank and status. The success of this mission depends upon your being one hundred percent engaged and if you are unable to crawl out of your rum induced, self-pitying behavior I will have you thrown out of the space force and sent back to Earth where you can rot until the Chroniech reduce it to a lifeless ball of charred rock. You are an officer in the Alliance space force and I expect you to behave that way. Are we clear Captain?”
    The shock of Doug’s attack was clearly evident on Ken’s face. The only reply he could muster through his confusion was a stunned, “Yes sir.”
    “Very well. Breakfast is at oh six hundred tomorrow in the officers mess. I expect you to be there.” Scarboro spun around and on his way out the door snapped, “Dismissed!”
    At precisely 0600 the following morning, Stricklen walked into the officer’s mess. After getting an omelet and a cup of coffee he approached the table where J. J. and Scarboro were already seated. Setting his plate down, he remained standing and said, “I would like to apologize for my recent behavior. Commodore Scarboro was kind enough to set me back on track.”
    Ken took his seat next to Doug who leaned over and said in a low voice, “That was the hardest thing I think I’ve ever had to do in my entire military career. I’m… ”
    “I understand Commodore,” Ken whispered back. “I will be more attentive to my duties in the future – Sir.” Ken had put a distinct emphasis on the word ‘Sir’.
    Doug looked intently at his old friend. The face that stared back at him was blank and unknown as if something inside Ken had turned to stone. Doug realized that his actions, while well intentioned, may have done more harm than good. It was clear that Ken had put their friendship on hold. Concerned and worried, Doug turned away and concentrated on his food.
    * * * * *
    Stricklen was on the Meerkat’s bridge as they approached their assigned station within the massive Almaranus orbital shipyard. It was here that ships too large to be built on the ground were assembled from the modules built on the planet below. Hundreds of starships in various stages of construction or repair orbited the planet.
    Almaranus is the fourth planet of the Tracmar star system and home to the largest spacecraft shipyard in the Alliance. Even though the planet is inhospitable to life it has a population of 1.1 billion – virtually all were involved in one way or another with the operation or support of the shipyards. This was where the final battle between the Alliance and the Chroniech had taken place.
    Most of the planet’s inhabitants supported the huge industrial complexes that dotted the surface. These factories churned out everything needed to build or service the ships in orbit and on the ground. The rest were involved in the mining of the vast deposits of minerals which supplied the factories with the raw material they needed. Almaranus is one of the most heavily industrialized planets known.
    The Meerkat had been assigned a parking spot very close to the Komodo Dragon. Ken could not take his eyes off the main viewer.