Second half of Alternate Universe story

Part two of my Alt universe story from last week. This one had a lot more conversations and I didn’t revise a lot so that may mean I missed stuff.
A short paragraph from last week to start it.

But enjoy:

The one comming him was dressed in the same tasteful clothes as Samuel was and had his hair in the same style. Samuel eyed the other warily, pressing a button that traced the comm signal back to its source. He wasn't surprised that it led back to a vessel very similar to his. It was one of the black ones and had exactly the same power readings as his vessel.
The other smiled warmly, which did not reassure Longrian, and said, "Hello, brother traveler. Is this what you expected?"
Samuel said, "Yes and more. This is wild."
**
Samuel’s eyes went wide when a double beep came from his computer, he almost jumped to it see what the problem was but realized that the second beep had come over his comm speakers. Both computers were reporting that a new arrival was about to enter the asteroid belt.
He glanced at his sensor screen than to a certain screen on his computer.
He said, "So another arrival at this party."
The image on the comm screen said with a humorous smile, "Yes it looks like it. I wonder if we will know him, or not."
A second later the other person said, "I wonder how many that makes."
Samuel said, "I think some where between sixteen and twenty-one."
The other said, "My approximation also."
Samuel said with a smile, "That’s not surprising."
After contacting the newcomer they found it was a woman in her thirties. Her red hair and green eyes, made her a striking figure. Both of their eyebrows raised as they saw the first female to appear at the gathering.
Samuel hadn't really considered the possibility, but he realized he should have. He saw the same look mirrored in the face of the guy he was talking to and knew he had just thought the same.
After greeting her, they went back to their conversation. Chatting for a minute, the double click sounded again. The other again reached off screen this time for longer period of time. At the same time he glanced at something off screen, his face showing puzzlement.
Oh Oh, Samuel thought.
The other looked at Samuel, than back to the side. His face clouded over, his joyful expression turning angry.
Definitely, this isn’t good.
The other asked in a low sounding voice so familiar to Samuel, "What are you doing?"
Knowing he was caught, he just mentally shrugged and said, "Getting some information I need back home."
"So," The other said, "That is why you have been asking some of your interesting questions?"
"I was hoping to learn something I could use."
"For what purpose?"
"I think you know. Let's just say that I hope to find something I can use to further my ambitions."
Here the other pressed another button.
He said, "So, you not only use our comm links to steal information from my computer, but you also want to use it to get advantage over other people."
"Better me than someone else. I have the brains and natural skills needed to be a leader."
"A leader who forces himself on other?" the contempt was dripping from the others words.
"Someone has to do it, just as well be me."
The other again reached off screen, pressing one, or two buttons. Thinking that something wasn’t right, Samuel looked at the same screen. What he saw shocked him. Files were appearing, than being deleted, almost faster than he could see. He scooted over quickly and started typing commands on his keyboard.
Soon the files slowed down and he typed some more. Finally the process stopped altogether. He smiled and moved back over to the screen.
He said, "That was tricky. Your program got in under my antivirus, anti-hacker program without sounding an alarm, but my advanced ‘ICE' got it."
"Hopefully, it got to enough files to hinder your plans. Maybe I can hinder you even more."
"I cannot allow you to do that."
The other smiled for a second, than said, "That’s my line. I cannot allow you to steal from anyone here, to use that info to hurt people."
"We could rumble, but I would win of course."
"I won't bet on that. We’re comparable."
Longrian looked at his sensor readings again and saw that it was true. Both ships had the same power readings and probably the same armaments. And his potential foe, no doubt, had experience using them. It would be almost like fighting himself. If he was ever able to fight himself, there would be no telling who would win. Of course he would have an advantage since he would not be averse to fighting in ways some called dirty. He called it winning. The other had already shown that he did not mind being underhanded, but he could not anticipate the things that he, Samuel, could come up with.
So Samuel G. Longrian said three words, "Computer, fighting mode."
Immediately his vessel changed. Not in any obvious way, but in attitude. The ship's lighting dropped down to battle levels, weapon emplacements popped up, and hatches slide open revealing more weapons. Shields came into existence.
Even before he had finished speaking the other on the screen had said the same three words. Now Samuel's eyes narrowed when he saw the exact same weapons appear along the other ship's hull.
His new foe asked, "Do you really want to fight me, in here?"
Samuel said, "Not really." And he was surprised to really mean it.
Suddenly his comm bleeped, as did his new foe's.
They both pressed their respective receive buttons. The loud voiced newcomer appeared on the screen. His face was red which almost matched his hair.
He said, "What are you two malcontents think you are doing?!"
 Automatically Samuel said, "It was just a misunderstanding."
He had spoken it a little too fast, and the image's face showed the speakers unbelief.
Samuel thought quickly and spoke again, "It was a
misunderstanding, he thinks I am going to hurt someone."
Hid potential foe said, "He said he wanted to use information he was stealing from us to force people to accept his rule.”
Samuel said, "That was the misunderstanding. I don't want to rule people, but even if I did it would be my business, not the gathering’s."
The loud mouthed one said, "Except for the fact that how you are thought of can put a bad light on the rest of us, and what happens to you might effect the rest of us in ways we can not anticipate."
Samuel just waved his hand, in a way to say that he thought that idea irrelevant.
He said, "It's still my business."
By now the rest of those present had noticed the two ships now had "hot" weapons and shields. Most tuned into the conversation to see what was happening.
When they realized that there could be a fight between two ships, groups split up, with each person rushing back to their own ship. Some of the ship moved out of the way, while others joined one side, or the other. One of the smallest ships zipped first to one of the twin ships than to the other, probably after its pilot realized he had gone to the wrong ship.
In one vessel two men were talking face to face. One of these two men was from the small runabout that had been standing off by itself. His ship was now docked with one of the larger ships.
That man said, "I th-think we should get out of here, in case they do fight."
The one he was talking to said, "That might be a good idea."
The first speaker said, "I-I knew I needed a bigger ship to check out this meeting."
As the nervous one spoke the other stepped to his controls
and started moving both ships away from the gathering. The two ships cautiously moved as one, though the wall of asteroids. Soon they were in the clear and after a few seconds later the owner of the ship they were in touched a control that
sent a special signal. Very soon, off to one side, a large strange ripple effect begin. An object began to solidify in certain places. Than, as the process increased speed, within seconds a ship appeared. It was rather large and streamlined. It looked very much like Samuel’s ship, but much larger.
The one who had sent the signal said, "I did bring a bigger ship."
His guest started with surprise and said, "So you are n-not
alone."
"Correct I’m not, but back to the point I was making, you will have noticed that some here have different characteristics.
Those two for example. One is the Boy Scout while the other is a manipulator. That loud mouth with the speedy ship is the brash one."
"He-he-he almost scraped my ship when he arrived. I thought he was going to ram me."
"You would think that. Anyway as I was saying, I’m the cunning one and you, my guest, are the nervous one," he said as he manipulated his controls maneuvering his ship closer to the larger one.
"Th-there should be a brain around here than."
"Hmm, you’re right... I wonder which one it is. He could have been here from the beginning."
Sweat formed on the nervous man's forehead but he said, "Your ship m-m-most have a large Process engine."
"Yes it does, but you will be able to see it soon."
"No, I-I'm n-not, I am going back to my ship."
"You could come with me, I could use a decoy where I come from. We would make a great team."
"I-I-I wouldn't m-make a g-good d-d-decoy."
"Yes, with your nervous stutter, they might see though you."
Suddenly the speaker noticed that his captive seemed to be pressing something in his pocket.
He said, "If you are trying to control your ship from here, it won't be able to do anything while under my tractor beam."
"I am not trying to control m-my-my ship."
"You’re not a good liar."
Suddenly though the observation window each could see light spill out of an opening in the side of the ship they were approaching, as a hanger door slide up.
A few seconds later, just as suddenly, a number of ships zipped in from behind the larger ship. They quickly came along both sides of the ship the two were in, stopping in perfect
formation. From their appearance they were defiantly military warships. There were ten ships in all. Seven were a flat half moon shape and had crews of ten men. Two were larger cigar shapes with crews of thirty. The last ship had a basic cigar shape, with a slightly bulging top and snubbed, swept back wings. It had the appearance of being very streamlined, even with the bulging top. It carried fifty crew members.
The nervous man said, "I told you I was not trying to control my ship. Th-these are my ships. I was pressing a panic button to call them. Now you will let me go in my small craft."
"Hey, you can go, I wasn't going to kidnap you."
"Perhaps not, but I-I wanted to make sure. These are from an elite fighting unit. Isn't that correct Major?"
A new voice sounded, coming from a brooch looking device on the guest's lapel, "That is correct, sir. I apologize for
appearing a little late."
The cunning man said, "I warn you if you do try to attack me after you are gone, my ship out there is powerful enough to destroy, or damage many of your warships."
"We won't," the other replied. "unless you fire on me. If you do plan on f-firing on me, as I leave remember, they will take y-you out. And don't think going into stealth will help you. This force has had experience fighting stealth vessels."
The other inclined his head in understanding, as he said, "I wasn’t planning on attacking you."
The strutting one made his way though the airlock and into his ship. It undocked and zipped very quickly to the largest military warship. Once on its hanger deck he got out and made his way to the bridge.
The major was standing there and as soon as he came out of the lift the major spoke, "I again apologize for being late. We
had to go around another force which came with another member of
the gathering."
The major's boss nodded then said, "I'm glad I insisted on
having your people join me out here."
He paused for a moment then said, "It’s p-p-probably a good time to leave."
Suddenly a flash of light caught their attention and they turned and looked at the view screen located in the front of the bridge. The vessel belonging to Samuel G. Longrian had just come though the hole leading to the clear area. It zipped by them heading for a clear area where Samuel activated his process drive. It was followed by the one owned by the Boy Scout, but Samuel’s ship disappeared, before the second ship could get to it. Many other ships were in the process of leaving also.
The nervous follow continued, "Looks like the party is over anyway."
The major said, "I will give the necessary orders."
Just than the large ship they were still surrounding rippled and very quickly disappeared. One of the bridge crew members reported that it looked like they had joined the others and had fled.
The major said, "Good, he really didn't want to fight," here he turned toward his boss and asked, "Was joining the gathering worth the trip?"
The reddish haired nervous man turned his green eyes to the major, "I think so, Major, but I need to go make me report with it all fresh in my mind, and than I need to relax."
The major answered, "I understand, sir. I will look forward to reading your report."
The other just nodded and turned toward the lifts glad to be out of that gathering. He had been studying a new type of experimental engine that was supposed to have a very interesting
process, few light years away when the authorities had come to him. They had wanted his help to infiltrate this meeting they had spied upon with stealth probes. It turned out that some high energy flares had attracted the attention of the military officer in charge of protecting this area of space. She had sent in the stealth probes, than had sent for him to join the gathering. He hadn’t understood why they thought he was the only one that could get in. Now he did, but he still was a nervous wreck.
As he started to fill out his report his warships rotated half way around a circle and zipped away in a perfect formation. Ten-seconds later they disappeared in a shimmer caused by their faster than light drives.
Soon afterward after every other ship had disappeared in a burst of light, another vessel rippled into existence.
Its lone occupant flipped on a diary begun to dictate, "Hmmm, the warships belonging to that nervous guy may have had experience fighting stealth ships after all. My sensors detected a drive unit moving away from where that large ship went stealth, but according to the same sensors it was still there. I noticed some of the war ships played sensors over where the ship had been, but most kept painting the area around the large ship with targeting sensors. Just enough to let that guy know they hadn't been tricked.
“It does look like the party is over, in that case I should probably get going too. I'm glad I listened in on some of their conversations. The one with the stealth ship was right, there was the evil one, the good one, or boy scout, the brash one, but if he was the cunning one that most mean that I am the sneaky one. They never knew I was here, even the first one who made careful use of his sensors, missed me. But who was the brain? Maybe we all were.”
"Hmm, the nervous one was the only one without a process engine, which probably means he was local. Not surprising all those energy flares, from the process engines, would attract attention. Somebody moved fast to get him out here so quick. Very impressive even though it won't be surprising, that he had been near by doing some research, I suspect it on the Process Drive. But his nervousness caused him to go slower then the rest of us. Now though he knows it will work.
“That could mean that someone will show up late. But if so all of the energy from temporal energy releases left behind will alert him that he is late.
“Now it’s time for me to go home."
“But a second thought. I am curious about what form of government they have here. I will stay just long enough to learn that but even so I need to watch those troops they know stealth vessels.”
Just as the nervous one finished a short preliminary report and signed his name Samuel G. Longrian, the sneaky one said, “Samuel G. Longrian signing off”.

end