Whenever I think about Earth, I realize how much I miss...everything. Even the bugs. They were so much smaller back home.

Lieutenant Rosa Morales

Space Insects

There was an ant on his desk.

By virtue of that fact, Gerard DuGalle knew that someone had screwed up. There weren't meant to be any ants on the Aleksander. There weren't meant to be ants on any of his ships. Ants were native to Earth. Ants, like many insects, were vital to keep Earth's biosphere going, especially since the planet's insect population was recovering from its collapse in the 21st century. However, the UPL had strict laws on planetary colonization, and ants, if they were to be introduced into a foreign ecosystem, were to be done only after thorough planetary analysis. What rats had been to the ships of yore that had sailed across Earth's seas, ants and other insects were to the worlds of the Orion Arm. Foreign. Innumerable. And if introduced to a planet, practically impossible to remove.

Yet an ant was here. Perhaps from Earth. Perhaps from one of the worlds of the Koprulu sector, a descendant of insects that had smuggled aboard the generation ships of centuries past. While he suspected the former, he couldn't rule out the latter. The time of the UPL's founding had been one of chaos, and when Earth was removing its undesirables, insects weren't high up on the list of priorities. Not when there were so few of them left, just like every other non-human species on mankind's homeworld. Earth, back then, had seen better days. Even now, it had still seen better days. And even if he made it home, even if the UED's control was cemented over this sector and he was allowed to transfer back, he knew that he'd never see Earth as it once was.

But there was still an ant here with him. He put his hand on the table, blocking the ant's path. After a moment's hesitation, the insect began climbing up his finger.

Good for you. He gave a sad smile, knowing that the insect couldn't possibly comprehend his thoughts. Thoughts of what had recently happened. Thoughts about was going to happen. Thoughts reflecting on how while Earth had too few insects, this sector had too many. Insects that could topple entire civilizations. Rip people limb from limb. Insects that, if everything went according to plan, could be forged into the greatest weapon humanity had ever wielded.

A buzz rang out and his smile turned to a frown. "Enter," the admiral said, his smile turning into a frown. There was an "if" in that assessment. And he hadn't risen to the ranks of admiral by relying on ifs and maybes. But the Council had seen fit to send him and his expedition force to the other side of the galaxy based on an if, and having devoted his life to the UPL, and hence, the UED, he wasn't about to say no.

"Admiral." The woman in front of him saluted. Leaving him to wonder what she would have said if their positions were reversed. If she'd have said no to leaving Earth. If she'd let a traitor worm their way into their midst. If she'd give the order to pull the trigger.

"Captain," he said. "Have a seat."

Captain Ade Taharqa wasn't him though. And even if Alexei Stukov had remained vice-admiral, what he was feeling now went far beyond the chains of command. Like the captain's eyes, darting around the office and the old Earth memorabilia spread throughout it, there were too many strings pulling on him. Unjust execution tended to do that to a man.

"Do you have it?" DuGalle asked.

The captain's eyes reverted back to his and her eyes narrowed. "Yes sir."

"Let me see it."

She handed him the data pad. An unnecessary action in the sense that the report could have been forwarded to him via the fleet's intranet, or any other method of communication, via it be warp space transmission, or something as simple as tightbeam. But given what had happened on Braxis...

"Remind me," DuGalle murmured, "only the platoon knows what happened?"

"Them and Stukov's followers."

He lowered the pad. "And what's your assessment?"

"They're with you sir. All the way to the gates of Hell."

Careful captain, they might get their wish. DuGalle, not voicing such thoughts, instead murmured, "generous of them."

"Duran pulled the trigger. And Atlas Platoon Thirty-four Mike were the ones that stopped the disrupter from exploding. They know who to point their guns towards."

The admiral lay back in his chair, and tapped his finger on the edge of the pad. "The report's good. Only you, me, the platoon, and the vice-admiral's forces will know what really happened."

"And Duran," Taharqa murmured.

"And Duran," the admiral concurred. The tapping stopped, and the hand that was under the desk formed a fist. "But as much as we hate to admit it, officially, Vice-admiral Alexei Stukov will die before Duran does."

"Sir?"

"A valiant assault on Char. Life given for Earth and the Directorate in the finest tradition of the service. A hero whose sacrifice ensured the enslavement of the Overmind and the defeat of the zerg."

The captain's lips quivered. "So we are going to Char," she murmured.

DuGalle gave her a small smile. "Well if you had the biggest gun in the universe, where would you go?"

"If I may say so sir, the Psi Disrupter isn't a gun."

"Perhaps." DuGalle got to his feet and walked over to the office's porthole. Before him was the black of space, the white of Braxis, and the grey of Edis. He sighed. "Most of human history has been decided by who had the bigger gun, or the bigger stick, or the bigger rock. Now we have the biggest gun ever made, and it may not matter. And even if we didn't, how good are big guns if there aren't enough of them to take out the enemy?" He looked at Taharqa. "You're free to say it captain."

"Sir?"

"Say I told you so. Say that letting a viper into our midst was a mistake. Say destroying the Psi Disrupter would be the greatest tactical blunder in the last century. Say that Alexei Stukov is dead, because of me."

"Sir, I-"

"Say it, captain. Say it because I'm getting too old to talk to myself without fearing that my mind has gone the same way as my honour." He pressed his head against the porthole, sighing. Thinking of the vacuum of space, and how a coffin would be shot out into it if all went to plan. "You're dismissed."

He didn't hear any words from Captain Taharqa. Not until after he'd heard her footsteps turn her around, carrying her body to the door. It hissed open, but the sound of it hissing shut never came. Instead, a question:

"Sir, if I may..."

DuGalle looked at her. Seconds ago, the captain had appeared as she'd usually had - firm, capable, well on her way to being a major when this was all done. Now, she reminded him of a scared child. Like Amelie had years ago, when she'd admitted to breaking Helena's 24th century vase. Except Amelie, Helena, and Emmanuel were 60,000 light years away, while...

"Spit it out, captain."

While Taharqa was right before him.

"Sir, I know we're going to Char next," she said. "I know it, my fellow officers know it, even the colonial conscripts know it. So I'm just wondering...I mean, Task Force Achilles was dispatched to observe the planet as soon as we arrived in this sector, so I'm wondering if..."

She trailed off, and DuGalle's mind wandered. Achilles. So named after the Greek hero, dispatched to find a similar heel on the zerg homeworld. Per the mandates of this campaign, Char was the second most important world in this sector, only Korhal topping it. Only while Korhal had lost its emperor, Char still had its Overmind. Plus, the zerg protecting it.

"I mean, the numbers are-"

"Billions," DuGalle said.

The captain blinked. "Sir?"

"Billions," the admiral repeated. "Latest assessment of Achilles is that the zerg on Char total in the billions." Seeing Taharqa fold her hands together, and her gaze lower, DuGalle murmured, "hence, a bigger gun."

She looked up at him. "And if the Psi Disrupter doesn't work? If it can't reach that far to Char?"

"Then my friend...I mean, Vice-admiral Stukov will have died for nothing. And when we die on Char, we'll die for nothing as well." He nodded to the door. "As I said, captain, we stand or fall together in this forsaken wasteland. And either the zerg are brought under the flag of Earth, or our bodies lie on the surface of Char."

The captain looked up at him, unfolding her hands. In one eye was fear. In the other, determination. She looked like she wanted to say something, but after a moment, instead nodded, and exited the room. The door closed with a hiss, and DuGalle was reminded of a truth that had been known to him since he'd first shipped out to Mars. Every soldier was afraid before battle. And anyone who claimed otherwise was insane, or a liar. And either way, unfit for command.

Here's to courage then, DuGalle thought as he made his way back to the desk. Here's to victory. He took a seat, took off his cap, and began to rub his eyes. And here's to not shitting our pants in the process.

He put his cap on the desk, and frowned.

The ant was still there.