[b]Upgrade[/b]

      "So, what is it exactly you want to do?" Gral asked Jeremy. They were in the conference room, and Huarfirselgalterin was with them.

      "I want to run an experiment on the sensor array, if my theory works, it should be able to boost the range."

      "Sensor's somewhat out of your field, isn't it?" He looked at the other male present. "Huar, what's your thoughts on this?"

      Huarfirselgalterin tapped a claw on the table. "It's . . . different. I don't know that it's going to work, but if it does, the potential increase in range would give us quite an advantage over other ships."

      "So you think it's worth trying it?"

      "Yes, it is."

      "Alright, when do you want to run the test?"

      Jeremy and Huar looked at each other. "Setting things up, will take some time," Jeremy said. "We need to rewire the sensors for this to work."

      Gral looked at them. "Okay, what exactly are you trying to do?"

      "In layman's term - I want to feed in the generator's antimatter frequency in the sensor. I think that we can harness some of the properties to extend the range."

      "I'm going to need more details, because that doesn't make much sense."

      Jeremy nodded, he'd hope that would have been enough, but he hadn't really believe it be. "Okay, when we collide matter and anti-matter, we get energy, but we also get resonant frequencies. There's been a lot of studies done on them, but no real use for them. I've been looking through the research, and one of the frequencies seems to bypass some of the laws of physics, it can propagate faster and further and the calculation indicates it should be able to. I'm confident that with the changes I want to make to the sensor we can harness those properties."

      "Okay, any idea what kind of extension we'll get? If I'm going to be without sensor while you upgrade them, I want to make sure it's worth it."

      "We'll probably get close to double the range," Jeremy said.

      "But you don't have to be without the sensors while we get ready," Huar added. "We can make the upgrade one sensor bank at a time. That's going to limit the loss."

      "If you do it that way, how long will it take to upgrade them all?"

      "Probably around six month."

      "Are you okay with that?" Gral asked Jeremy.

      "That's fine. This isn't time sensitive." At least not in the 'it needs to be done now' sensitivity. If Huar could do everything within six month, he'd only have to find a way to delay him by two months at the most. Then it would be up to Thuruk to make sure they were in the sector they had to be for the test.

      "Alright. Get to it. Keep me up to date on the upgrade."

      * * * * *

      Almost nine month later Jeremy was ready for the test. He hadn't had to engineer any delays, Huar had taken the opportunity to do maintenance on the array as he did the upgrades.

      Thuruk had given Gral information about a pirate group making Sarnir station their base of operation a day before, they were on their way there now.

      "Bridge, I'm ready to initiate the frequency, let me know when the sensors are offline and I have control of them."

      "You have them," the bridge replied a moment later.

      Jeremy entered the commands and the new cables that had been added to the generator started pulsating. The pulse sped until it wasn't noticeable anymore. The readout told him the whole array was responding. He let the program he'd written run its course, and on cue the pulse went out.

      "What was that?" the tech at sensor on the bridge asked.

      "I'm not sure," Jeremy lied, watching his screen. It had to be here.

      "Shouldn't we be getting something by now?"

      "Yes we should. I'm looking into that." Jeremy kept on looking at his screen, and then, there was a pulse at the edge of it. Another screen gave him a string of number. He smiled and filed the number in a private, and sealed, file. 

      "Did you see that?" the tech said over the com.

      "I did."

      "What was it?"

      "I don't know," Jeremy lied again.

      "Wow, what ever that was, it's one and a half light year away. I thought we were only going to double the range?"

      "I'm as surprised as you are. I'm shutting things down on my end and giving you back standard sensor. I'm going to have to go over the results to see what happened."

      "Got it."

      Jeremy did as he'd said. All the while planing his next steps.

[b]ultimatum[/b]

      Jeremy strode through the corridors. Striding might be too strong a word, after all he was wearing a uniform he wasn't use to, and was uncomfortable. How humans could wear something that shafted like this he couldn't understand. Then there was the helmet. Sure, the heads up display was giving him a lot of information, but he couldn't smell anything, and barely heard anything. His hearing and sense of smell was nothing compared to kelsirians, but he'd learn to sharpen them as much as he could, and now he was realizing just how much he depended on them.

      Getting the military outfit hadn't been that difficult, according to Xernial, who had contacts with human smugglers. He'd also been able to get plenty of vids showing the human stiff military walk. Jeremy had practiced it, and cursed it as much as he was cursing it right now.

      Giving Ashnulem opportunities to practice accessing human system was what took the longest. Over three years he infiltrated every human ships they came across at the trading points. Xernial had sacrificed many of his contacts to give Ashnulem those chances, and now he was as comfortable navigating them as he was kelsirian systems.

      Perrovtil and thuruk had provided him with some of the device he was going to use to make his point. They weren't what he'd had planned on using initially. Then, he'd been planning on something much more . . . visible, as a way to send his message, but Leiha had convinced him to tone things down, and he had to admit, that she was right. When he wasn't letting his anger control him, he really didn't want to start a war.

      Finding the ship, that had been the easy part, that first test of the upgraded sensor array had given him the harmonic resonance specific to the hidden human ship. He'd been confident he'd get that, all the numbers had added up to this. Because antimatter generator were all different, due to how they were initially made and repairs that had to be done on them, they resonated at slightly different frequencies. That interacted with the frequency the new sensor worked with to create a harmonic resonance specific to each ship. It had given the Viper's bane a new way to identify and track ships, but no one but him had noted that first one, the anomaly they'd gotten on that first test. Using that, it had been simple to know the ship was docked on the same station as they were, and to get his plan started.

      He made it to the office he wanted, and the display indicated it was empty. Ashnulem had made some modification to his helmet so he could track his target. The door unlocked, and relocked once he'd entered, again, Ashnulem's work. 

      The office was claustrophobic to Jeremy. Something he'd never missed since leaving the station, was how working and living spaces were so small. Kelsirian likes to have space to move, and build accordingly. So ships had to be larger, needed more material to build, cost more, but what was all that when compared to being comfortable. He took off his helmet and breath deeply now that he could, and wrinkled his nose at how stale the recycled air was.

      The desk was made of simulated wood, had actual papers on it, with a data pad, as well as a computer, of a model he didn't recognize. The chair was plush, large and well cushioned, probably the only comfortable thing in the office. He added what he'd brought to it, then went back to looking the room over. The back wall was a shelf, with books on it. Upon further inspection they turned out to be fakes, composite material made to look like books. There was nothing else, not even another chair for anyone here to talk with the general.

      His display indicated the general was on his way here, and Jeremy moved beside the door. He didn't want the general to realize he was here too quickly. 

      The human entered, went next to his desk and took off his helmet before turning, and realize there was someone else in his office.

      "How did you get in here?" the general asked. "Why aren't you wearing your helmet?"

      "The door wasn't lock, sir." Jeremy said, adopting the straight posture human took when being with a superior officer. "I need to talk with you."

      The general looked him over, and moved behind his desk. "I don't remember anyone making an appointment," he said, tapping on the key to his computer, still standing.

      "I know, sir. It just came up, and since your door was unlocked, I decided to wait for you here."

      "Really? You *decided* to enter a superior officer's office, without authorization? Tell me, son, are you really looking forward to spending the rest of the week in the brig?" The general was staring at him.

      "No, sir. If I'd thought there had been anyone else I could take this to, I would have." Come on, Jeremy thought, sit the fuck down.

      "Well, out with it then."

      "It's about the colonel," Jeremy said, and paused.

      "What has he done, this time," the general said, with a sigh, and sat down. In the silence, the unusual, and loud, click his chair made reverberated.

      Jeremy smiled. "I wouldn't get up, if I were you," he said, when the general moved to stand. "If you do, the bomb will go off." If he had followed his initial plan, the piece that made the sound would have been omitted, and he wouldn't have had this conversation. He had to admit, Lieha had been right, this was much more satisfying then sending a message to the humans after the fact, telling them why he'd done what he'd done.

      The general looked at him again, and Jeremy got the feeling that for the first time he was actually taking him in. "Who are you, and what do you want?"

      "Considering the extant you went to, to get to me, I'm offended you don't know who I am."

      "What are you taking about?"

      "Five years ago, the attempted kidnapping of two kelsirian cubs. Sounds familiar?"

      He was silent for a moment. "Your that traitor. The one who sold out his kind."

      Jeremy cocked his head to the side. "My kind are kelsirian, so no I haven't sold them out."

      "Then you're a pervert. A sick homo who's not fit to call himself human."

      Jeremy was happy for the session with Leiha, then. If not for them he would probably have blown up the general at that moment. Instead me went to the desk and leaned on it. "Tell me general, do you want to live? If so, you might want to stop insulting the male who can trigger the bomb you're sitting on."

      "Is that suppose to scare me? You blow it and you're going to kill yourself at the same time."

      "Hardly. It's a shape charge. I might singe my eyebrows, this close to the blast, but that's about it. You, on the other hand, will be vaporize, as well as who ever is in that office above yours. I'd say I'm sorry for the collateral damage, but I really can't get myself to care about human death anymore. Might have something to do with the torture your kind put me through."

      "What do you want?"

      "I want the same thing I told your people all those years ago. I want to be left alone. I'm just one person, so I don't understand why you're spending so much effort trying to get to me."

      The general raised an eyebrow. "You expect me to believe you're not involve in the subversion that's going on? Oh, we know about it," he said, at Jeremy's surprised look. "And we'll have it snuffed out soon enough. And we know you're the instigator. You wanted to know why we're after you. You're a terrorist, teaching your sick ways to my people, and we're not going to stand for it."

      "How have I been doing any of that?" Jeremy asked, actually curious to know the answer. "I haven't been anywhere humans or their ships."

      "I don't know how you're doing it, but don't worry, once I have you in a cell, I'll take pleasure in getting the answer to that question."

      Jeremy looked the general in the eyes. "Are you waiting for guards to show up? I hope you're patient, because they aren't coming. No one received that emergency signal you sent." He gave the general time to absorb the information. "How is that possible, your wondering? How indeed. I mean, the outside of this ship might be of kelsirian design, but except for the mercenaries you have going out to buy what you need, the entire crew is human, so they can't be working against you, can they?" Jeremy smiled at him. "No, that's crazy. No human in their right mind would want me to deliver my message, and then just walk out, unarmed. No, it must be something else."

      The general looked left and right, the concern in his eyes slowly turning to fear.

      "I walked in, right off the station, onto a ship that is suppose to be undetectable. No one knows humans are in this ship, right? No one prevented me from boarding, after all I'm wearing this uniform worn only by human military. They're really uncomfortable, I have to say. No one would have lent it to me so I could do this. I'm sure I just found it on the black market, don't worry, you can trust everyone on this ship to look out for you.

      "Do you get the situation you're in, general? I can get to you, It doesn't matter how well hidden you think you are, I can get to you. So, if you want to live, you are going to leave me alone. If the only reason you're entering our space is to chase me, go home. If you have other reasons to be here, if you're looking to undermine my government, or the federation, we will take you down. Consider yourself warned."

      Jeremy picked up his helmet, went behind the chair, and disarmed the bomb. With his helmet back on, he left the office, and then the ship.

      * * * * *

      He lost himself in the crowd, there was enough human military walking about the station no one paid him notice. He ducked in a side hallway and then a room whose door wasn't locked. He took off the uniform, and destroyed it. Dressed in his regular clothes he joined his four friends at the bar.

      They were in good spirits when they boarded their ship, the operation had gone well, nothing had been done from the Viper's Bane, so nothing could be traced back. The general would probably be so paranoid he wouldn't dare say anything to anyone, so the humans wouldn't bring this incident up. No one would know this had happened.

      The five of them stopped in their track on seeing Gralgiranselhelrarvnir standing in the middle of the access, arms crossed over his chest. He looked them over, fire behind his eyes. "The four of you, to your quarters," he growled. "Stay there until I come get you."

      They left, leaving only Jeremy there. He stared at his Heart, and captain, who glared back at him. Without saying anything Gralgiranselhelrarvnir grabbed him by the nape and dragged him through the ship, until they were in the brig, where he threw him in a cell, and left him there.