Prologue

"Lennox, this is Halleck. Respond. Repeat, this is Brig Gen Halleck. Captain Lennox, respond."

Steak opened his small, ruby-like eyes and looked at the Captain. "He does not sound pleased," he said in his peculiarly calm, matter-of-fact tone.

"No, he doesn't," responded Horatio Lennox, and with a sigh he keyed the microphone button on the ship's communications panel. "This is Captain Lennox, Sir. Go ahead."

"Are you off-planet, Captain?" came the response, carrying with it a note of surprised rebuke that was clear even across the sub-space communicator.

"Affirmative, Sir."

"Please explain your status, Captain."

Horatio took a deep breath, thinking quickly. His status was that he standing on the bridge of an alien vessel with its lone remaining crewman - both the only of their kind ever encountered by humans. The ship had been designated "Defector Class" by the US Aerospace Corps - a nod to the story behind how it came to be in the ALF yard at Fort Yeager - but whether or not that name would take on greater significance depended solely on how well Horatio maneuvered his way through this conversation. The idea that in defiance of a direct order to liquidate the ALF program, Captain Lennox had instead taken advantage of a few confused moments to cobble together a crew (through rescue, manipulation, and outright bribery - the latter of which he was the recipient) and undertake an unauthorized flight in a grounded vessel without orders or even any specific plan besides escape - that explanation probably wouldn't serve.

Not only would he be branded a defector, but his crew would as well. Rory was already serving under probationary engineer's commission thanks to a bit of failed draft-dodging, and Break-Fix must have pissed off somebody in the GE corps to have landed himself in ALF in the first place. As for Dr. Lamark, Horatio was almost certain it would have been acceptable for he and his work to have been casualties of the ALF liquidation procedure. The Corps would shower scarcely few mercies on this band of misfits.

"Special Consultant A-1 advised me that he had the Defector Class vessel in operable order, Sir," Horatio said, his tone calm and somewhat bored. "I pulled a small tactical research crew to evaluate its status in a low-orbit test run, but we were diverted by some heavy traffic and opted for a short lunar cruise instead. The vessel is under my command, Sir - there's no danger and I frankly didn't expect you to miss us."

"So you're unaware that this improvised lunar test drive means you've failed to comply with a priority order?" Halleck's tone was odd- Horatio was almost certain he heard a hint of amusement in his superior's voice.

"No sir, I didn't receive any order, sir."

"So you're further unaware that in violation of several articles of the Deep Space Exploration Treaty, Lt. Col. Copeland ordered an immediate execution of Order 19 for ALF division?"

The mention of the treaty was interesting, and encouraging. Horatio tried to sound shocked. "No sir. What's the status of ALF, Sir?"

"You're currently taking a moonlight cruise in the remainder of ALF, Captain. All other Special Consultants - and several Corpsmen - were lost in an attempt to execute the illegal order. Copeland has been arrested."

Careful now, Horatio thought to himself, and slowly spoke into the microphone. "That is disappointing, Sir."

"Quite. Fortunately for you and your crew, you were off-planet for the ordeal. It's further fortunate that I ordered you to take this test run several days ago, prior to any dissemination of Order 19."

Horatio breathed a sigh of relief. "That is fortunate, Sir. Thank you, Sir."

"Don't thank me yet, Captain. Switch to secure channel Foxtrot."

Special Consultant A-1, called Steak to anyone without stars on their uniform, reached over and adjusted the communication settings. "Channel secured, Sir," said Horatio.

"Ballsy fucking move, Horatio," said Halleck. "How long has that thing been able to fly?"

Steak shrugged and rolled his eyes - a human gesture of superior annoyance he found extremely useful. Horatio chuckled and said, "Since we asked her to, Sir."

Halleck laughed on the open microphone. "So, what are you planning?"

"Again, Sir, to be honest - the plan mostly involved getting off the Fort grounds and trying to stay in the air."

"Christ on a tortilla, Captain - what if the order stood? Copeland would have had the whole fleet after you. And you weren't even certain that ship was sound? Strap on a pair of wings and hope not to fly too high, is that it?"

"Our present course keeps us well away from the sun, Sir."

There was a pause, and Horatio could see the Brigadier General in his minds eye, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes in a gesture of resigned acceptance. The radio chirped to indicate the communication was no longer crossing a secured channel.

"Given the unfortunate state of your previous post, I'm issuing a field commission of Defector Class Vessel Alpha as UPAC Research Vessel Icarus. Further, I'm granting you authority to designate rank to your pilot and engineer while they are under your command. GEC D7V retains his field status, and your consulting scientist is retained at your discretion."

Captain Horatio traded a long look with Steak, relived disbelief palatable between them. "Thank you, Sir. Defector Class vessel Icarus has just left Earth orbit, Sir, and is on a system-side trajectory for a lunar passage. Reporting for duty, Sir."

There was another long pause, and Halleck asked, "Are you equipped for out-system missions, Captain?"

Horatio confirmed his suspicion with a glance at Steak, who nodded solemnly. "Yes Sir. We can sling, Sir."

"Proceed to Wolf System, orbital base Ferox. Automated transmissions indicate the base is in acceptable functional condition, but crew transmissions have ceased - it's been nine days since we heard from the base directly. It could just be a malfunction, protocol dictates a 21 day window to respond if automated conditions are normal - but since we find ourselves with a spare research vessel, we'll take advantage of this early opportunity."

"Yes Sir," Horatio responded. "Wolf system, OB Ferox. We're on our way, Sir."

"Captain, keep your nose clean. Fortune like yours can't continue forever."

"Understood, Sir."

The radio speaker fell silent, and for a long moment, Horatio and Steak just watched Earth's moon approach slowly. Finally, Horatio said, "Second Lieutenant, plot a course us to Wolf system. I'll go inform the crew of our new commission."

Steak nodded, accepting his new title with practical but polite indifference. "Yes.... Captain."

Horatio smirked at the honorific from Steak, and strode out, leaving Steak alone. Steak brought his hands up to the middle of his chest, his long grey fingers forming a peak. He closed his eyes again, and reached out to his ship.

For the first time, he called it by name.