Read The Solarian Celebration: Book 3 of the Alliance Conflict for Free Online

the next 26 minutes.
    Frank and the other 7 Senators were sitting in a hastily assembled conference room in the entertainment area of the battleship Sentry .  Frank walked over to the large monitor and looked at the scans and video camera feeds of the Sunflower .  The report said that it had been damaged, but was able to continue.  What he saw on the monitor left him speechless.
    The damage to the ship was extensive, beyond belief really.  One-fourth of the hull was a different color and there were extensive weld seams running from the top of the ship to the bottom.  The seams looked terrible, childish perhaps.  The area surrounding the seam was discolored and looked burnt.  Frank couldn’t imagine what happened to the ship or how it was still capable of flying through hyperspace.
    Frank looked over and saw that Senator Korno was standing beside him.  He smiled in acknowledgement and said, “The ship looks terrible.  I can’t imagine what made their hull change from gold to silver.”
    Korno pointed to the silver section of the hull and replied, “That section is Hiriculan steel.  They use a slightly different allodizing process that makes their hull material that color.”
    Frank replied, “I don’t think I have ever heard of anyone welding in outer space, let alone metal from a Hiriculan ship.”
    Korno replied, “I cannot wait to hear this story.”
    There was a considerable debate concerning who should attend the debriefing.  Solarian Senator Amanda Catmeows wanted all admirals, chiefs of staff, captains, and first officers to attend.  Frank knew that this was a political ploy to expose the presence of humans, so he forced an actual Senate vote over the issue.
    Frank’s argument that the humans were still technically a secret carried the discussion.  As a result, the invitation list was trimmed to Admiral Dolen, his chief of staff Olova, and Captain Solear.  Admiral Wertak was also invited.
    Dolen began the report.  He discussed how the fleet arrived in Influenla, chased away the Hiriculan frigate guarding the entrance to the hyperspace lane, and proceeded to the station.  They determined that there were no military ships on the station.  They tried to leave, but were trapped and forced to surrender.
    Frank looked over at Figur.  Figur had somehow managed to stay quiet throughout the entire 10 minute presentation.  He couldn’t remember the last time Figur had made it that long without interrupting.  At any rate, he doubted Figur would make it through Solear’s report with a quip or two.
    Solear stepped to the temporary podium.  He wasn’t technically at an official Senate meeting, but he started by saying “Respects gentle beings” anyway.
    Solear said, “The enemy knew our battle plan.  They had a destroyer and a cruiser waiting for us at the exit of the Trilon hyperspace lane.  They knew that the Sunflower , or at a minimum some Alliance cruiser, was going to go appear in Trilon.  They also knew that the cruiser would be stripped of its fighters.”
    Figur interrupted right on queue.  He asked, “Are you implying that we have a mole in our organization?”
    Solear responded, “No.”  When everyone relaxed, Solear said, “I am not implying it; I am stating it clearly and plainly.  Someone leaked the operational details of our mission.  I have no suspects and am accusing no one, but the evidence overwhelmingly supports a leak.”
    Frank said, “We will address that later.  Please, tell us what happened.”
    Senator Amanda interrupted before Solear could resume speaking.  She said, “Captain, you are being very blunt.  This is unlike you.  Are the humans wearing off on you?”
    Solear simply replied, “Yes,” causing everyone in the room to nervously laugh.
    Figur said, “Please, continue.”
    Solear was tempted to say that he hadn’t started yet, but kept the comment to himself.  Instead, he loaded a flashdrive cube into the main monitor and started the playback.