Admiral Jarvis had sent Captain Williams (descendant of Sir Williams, ostrich knight) to Tau Alpha C. Communications with the settlement had been lost.

On arrival, they had found the planet infested with aliens. Only ten settlers had survived. Williams knew what he had to do.

“DeMar, Dicker!” the captain ordered. “Scan the planet for any emergency transponder signals! Dussault, I’m going to need every last bit of that piloting genius of yours!” He scanned the bridge. “Where the hell are my weapons officers, Buckner and Garcia?!”

“Sickbay, sir,” Doctor Bally reported. “Space flu. Recovery is only midway.”

“All right, fine,” Williams said. “I’m taking on weapons detail.”

That was sixteen hours ago. The crew was exhausted, but they had a job to do. They had, amazingly, only lost two settlers, but the strain of battling wave after wave of aliens was starting to show.

I have to get these soldiers a respite, no matter how brief.

Then he saw it.

“Dussault! Head for that stargate! This is a whole new game.”