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Part One
Arcetranan Space
The dimensional cruiser materialized into the space. Inside were the Cappers. The Gray Zombie sat at the controls piloting the ship. Also on board were DanZero, Torgone, Cave Dweller, CyberBeast, MSTieLyn, and Ying Yang.
"Ok, group," Dan said, trying to sound authoritative "We are the best of the pilots the Cappers have to offer..."
"Well, not really the best," Gray said, "You were just the ones who were available at the time."
"Whatever. So, we have a duty and an obligation to make Tolstoy proud of us. And to show the Kortac exactly what we're made of."
"And if you are what you eat, DanZero is baloney."
"Gray, I thought we agreed that we'd stop insulting each other?"
Gray shrugged, "I never make promises I don't intend to keep."
DanZero shook his head, then turned to the others, "I'll deal with him another time. For now, we are to be on our best behavior while we are on this carrier. We are to be astute while we are learning about our new fighters. After all, we are The Illustrious Squadron."
"Illustrious Squadron?" Torgone asked
"Yea, after all, your team leader is none other than The Illustrious DanZero, so it seems logical that we should be called The Illustrious Squadron."
Gray turned to say something, then turned back around, figuring it would be best not to say anything. He looked ahead then turned back to the crew.
"Ok, heads up, gang." He said, "We're coming up to our destination."
They all got up and went up front to see where they were heading. It was a huge spaceship, definitely not a SCI Fi channel rip off of a spaceship, seeing as how this looked original in design.
"The Victory 7." Gray said, "Technician by design, but has a crew consisting of almost 100 dimensional species. The captain is named Halrex, formerly of Technica, now considers the Victory 7 his home."
"Tolstoy say what this guy was like?" MSTieLyn asked
DanZero nodded, "A military by the book kind of guy. We definitely need to be on our toes. He has been warned of our sense of humor, though. But, I say we play things his way."
"Which is why I'm not staying with you guys." Gray said, "After I drop you off, I'm going fishing with GlitterRock and Linesman."
"Oh, come on Gray," CyberBeast said, "Don't you want to be in the military?"
"Nope, rather go fishing. Now everyone sit back, we're going in for a landing."
The cruiser went into the docking port of the Victory 7.
Victory 7 Docking Bay
Captain Halrex stood in the bay with several of his officers, all representatives of different dimensions. He watched the cruiser gently land. A few seconds later the door to the cruiser opened and he watched as one of the Cappers walked out.
"Hey, did you order a group of Cappers. Sense of humor heavily warped?" Gray Zombie asked
Captain Halrex sighed, then looked at the Capper. "Are you going to be touring with us?"
"Oh, hell no, sir. The lucky Cappers are coming out now."
The Cappers came out of the cruiser and stood in line, at attention. Halrex walked over and looked them over in true military fashion. The Gray Zombie walked behind him. Halrex stopped in front of DanZero.
"You are the one called DanZero?" Halrex asked
"Sir, Yes sir." DanZero replied. He noticed Gray Zombie rolling his eyes, but ignored him.
"Good response," Halrex said, "I realize that you and your crew are not used to the military, but we are in a war with the Kortac. The Victory 7 is my ship, and I must ask that you play by my rules."
"We will not let you down, sir." Dan said.
"Oh yea," Gray said, sarcastically "You've got YingYang on your team. He'll probably find him some alien looking woman with a tongue down to her naval and try to see if she'll want to have sex with him."
"Gray," Dan said, "do you have someplace you should be?"
"Oh, yes, of course I do. I could cancel those plans, however, and stay with you guys, but.." Gray threw up his hands and gave a big smile, "I'm not"
Gray headed into the dimensional cruiser. Halrex turned to DanZero.
"Is he always like this?" Halrex asked
"He's a former demon hunter, sir. I think he may of been possessed in the past which affected his sanity."
Gray Zombie's voice came from inside the cruiser as the door shut, "And what's your excuse?"
The other Cappers tried not to laugh, as did Halrex.
"Very well....Cappers." he said, "get your gear, Lt. Olox will take you to your quarters. We'll begin your training as soon as we make the dimensional jump to Radston space."
"Thank you sir" DanZero replied
Halrex and his officers with the exception of one, Lt. Olox, a humanoid bird hybrid, walked away. Teh Cappers turned to Dan.
"Your nose is so brown, you could pass for that guy on Farscape, you do know that?" Cave Dweller asked
"Hey, come on." Dan said, defensively, "We're on a military ship, we need to watch our P's and Q's"
"Yea, he's right." YingYang agreed, he turned to Lt. Olox, "Sir, are there any women on this ship who have tongues that come down to their naval?"
Olox shook his head, "I'm afraid not. And I must admit, that does sound tempting."
The Cappers breathed a sigh of relief, at least humor wasn't nonexistent on this ship. They picked up their gear and Olox lead them to the crews quarters.
"Olox" Dan asked, "What dimension are you from?"
"I am from the Filerian dimension." Olox replied "We've managed to fight the Kortac from invading my home, although it was not easy, and it cost us dearly."
"I hope it isn't as hard for us." MSTieLyn said
"Fortunately, there are over one hundred and fifty dimensions who have joined together to fight the Kortac. Unfortunately, the Kortac are extremely fierce."
"We've managed to thwart their invasion plans so far." DanZero said, "Hopefully, we can stop them altogether."
"I hope so, DanZero. It would be a great relief to be rid of them."
Victory 7 Bridge
Captain Halrex turned to his first officer, Commander Garix, an Arcetranan. The commander stood at attention.
"Are we ready for the dimensional jump?" Halrex asked
"Yes sir." Garix replied "Beginning the procedure now."
"Good. So tell me, what do you think of these 'Cappers'?"
"At first glance, I'd say that they haven't a chance against the Kortac. But then, from reading these reports from their leader, they may surprise us."
"I hope you're right, Commander. If there's one thing we could use in this war, it's a surprise in our favor."
"Beginning dimensional jump now, sir."
And with that, the Victory 7 left Arcetranan space for it's next destination.
To Be Continued
(DanZero and crew begin their first flight in their dimensional fighters, and meet a member of the Victory 7's crew that Dan wishes he wouldn't meet)