Jason stared dumbfounded. “I think this all has something to do with the admiral. Pal showed me his face through his screen earlier when he was beating me in the brig.”
“The admiral?” said Killian skeptically.
Erik turned to Jason with a look of understanding and nodded, saying one word, “Thomas?”
Jason nodded and turned back to the main screen with a sigh. “One problem at a time. Charlie, are you suggesting we blow up Pluto when the Valkyries slingshot around it?”
She looked at him with a determined scowl and regained her composure. “Exactly.”
Erik began to laugh. It was a tired, seen-to-much-shit-for-one-day laugh. “You two are nuts. Nuttier than that robot. Are we really talking about blowing up Pluto?”
Charlie shrugged. “Why not, there’s nothing living there. And I for one am sick of the debate about whether it is a planet or not.”
“You’re sick,” said Erik, shaking his head but smiling.
“Blow up Pluto...” Jason couldn’t help a laugh. Given that the circus never seemed to be ending, it was all he could do. Inside he could feel himself clawing against his composure, struggling not to rush to Pal and find out about ‘the little girl.’
“Hell, they already call me The Man Who Broke the Moon. Why not add The Man Who Blew up Pluto to the list?” he said with a lazy shrug.
“The Man Who Blew up Pluto...” said Charlie with a grin. “It’s got a ring to it.”
“I can’t believe we’re even talking about this,” said Killian, who had been shaking his head the entire time.
“Jane, what are the ramifications of this course of action? Will it affect the other planets?”
“Pluto is not a planet, sir. But no, there should be little if any effect on the eight planets orbiting the sun.”
“Sir,” said Erik. “Given recent ...revelations, how can we be sure that this hybrid drive is even functional, or hell, real for that matter? We should just turn back and return to Earth.”
“And if the H-Drive is real, if it works?” Jason asked.
“Sir, as your second-in-command, I strongly advise that we rethink the validity of the mission. If the admiral is bent on revenge, why use you to captain the first interstellar flight?”
“That’s a great question, Number 2.”
Jason whirled around and found the admiral standing in the doorway. In his right hand was a laser gun, and on his face was a grin.
Chapter 24
The Admiral’s Revenge
The admiral fired his weapon.
Erik Andal’s head jerked back. He looked at Jason, and Jason saw the chrome wall through the gaping hole in his friend’s head.
Charlie screamed.
“You son of a bitch!” Jason started toward the admiral, stalking with grim determination. The admiral raised the gun and aimed it at his head, but Jason kept on coming.
“Stop,” said the admiral.
Jason closed to within five feet and prepared to spring at him.
The laser gun fired, taking Jason in the thigh. He dropped to the floor in anguish.
Charlie ran toward Jason, but the admiral stopped her with a look. He let his gaze drift to every one of the crew. “Stay put and keep your hands where I can see them.”.
“Why are you doing this, Mark?” Jason asked through bloody teeth.
“Three reasons, really.” The admiral motioned with the gun for Charlie to move against the wall and pushed on his wristwatch. “Pal, you are under orders to return to the bridge.” He looked at Jason and sighed, taking a seat in the captain’s chair while the crew lined up next to their captain. “First, I’ve been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer,” said the admiral. “They gave me a month to live. Secondly, your incompetence led to my son’s death, and I want nothing more than to see you suffer. Third and perhaps most importantly, the alien threat is real. That crashed UFO was a scout, and they must be dealt with.”
“So, what’s your big plan, Mark? Fly me out to the Termination Shock, use the H-Drive to jump to their planet, and then what?”
The admiral laughed. “Now what fun would it be if I told you?” He turned to the robot limping down the hallway. His torso was attached to his legs once more, but he still walked with a crooked gait. “Pal, handcuff the crew. Use any force necessary.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Pal, I thought you were a part of the crew,” said Jason. “I thought you were one of us. Help us...”
Pal stopped and turned. His digital face lit up to express sadness. “You never thought that, Captain. You never liked me.”
“That’s not true.”
“Jason, please do shut up,” said the admiral. “Pal, I gave an order.”
The robot hung his head. “Yes, sir.”
“Captain to engineering!” Jason began, but his warning turned into a cry of pain as the admiral punched him in the face.
“I can do this all day long,” said the admiral. “Keep it up, Jason.”
Jason seethed against the pain, but he smartly shut up.
He was going to have to be patient. If only he could find some way to keep the admiral talking, he could figure out a plan, or maybe Kaito would finally show. Where is he? Thought Jason
“Charlie, report to your station. We’ve got a date with Pluto,” said the admiral.
She complied, shooting a concerned glance at Jason as he cringed on the floor. The admiral stalked over to him and grabbed him by the hair, dragging him up and pushing him into the captain’s chair. “Sit tight, Captain, the show’s only just begun.”
Kaito walked onto the bridge, and the admiral turned to face him, not with surprise or fear, but with a grin and a nod.
“Ah, Kaito, good to see you. Thank you for allowing me access to the ship. Also, your work with Pal turned out as well as it could have. He has been very useful, despite my original fears.”
Jason blanched and looked at Kaito, but the man would not return his gaze. He wouldn’t even look in Jason’s general direction.
“Is the subject secure?” asked the admiral.
Kaito nodded.
“You’re not lying to me, are you?”
Kaito stood straight and looked the admiral in the eye. “I did as you asked.”
“Good, don’t forget, with a word I can have your wife and baby boy killed. So, don’t test me.”
So that’s what he’s got on Kaito. Poor bastard.
“She’s sedated,” said Kaito. “But she’ll be ready when the time comes.”
“I don’t doubt it,” said the admiral.
“She?” said Jason.
The admiral smirked at him. “Sit tight, Captain. Everything shall be known to you soon enough. And I daresay, once you know it, you may wish you didn’t.”
“Look,” said Jason. “I know you’ve got a grudge with me, but it’s with me. Let them go. Let them leave on the escape pods, and I’ll do whatever you want.”
The admiral laughed and sat on the raised edging surrounding the crew’s stations. “You will do whatever I want regardless. Why would I give you that?”
“Because they did nothing wrong. It was my incompetence that killed Thomas. They had nothing to do with it.”
“This is true, but you love them, and for that they shall die before you.”
Jason said nothing. He gritted his teeth against the pain of his wounds with a grunt, becoming light-headed. Seeing this, the admiral gestured to Pal. “Give him something to shut him up.”
“Yes, sir.” Pal moved over to Jason and grabbed him roughly by the arm, pinching off circulation. Jason didn’t fight it, wanting his wits about him anyway. A needle suddenly sprang from Pal’s index finger, and he thrust it steadily into Jason’s vein. Cold liquid filled his arm, and instantly he became more alert, high even.
Jason groaned against the sudden feeling. He recognized it well; it was a mixture he favored, part heroin, part pure cocaine. His head lolled back and he fought to keep his eyes open.
Pal whispere
d in his ear, “Don’t worry, Daddy.”
Chapter 25
The land of Dreams
Jason walked through the threshold, disturbing the gathered fog. Melissa lay in bed facing the ocean. Her eyes were held open by a look of sorrow, and her wrists lay wide-open. Her nightgown was black, a stark contrast against the white of the sheets. Two large red stains marred the fabric’s pristine appearance.
“Melissa?”
Her dead eyes stared south. They stared at nothing.
Jason walked to the edge of the bed. He had been here before, every sober night since the day to be exact. He turned to regard the wall where the words had been written in blood.
YOU KILLED HER.
He regarded Melissa once more, and he forced a smile. “I think she’s alive, Mel. She’s alive. I don’t know how. I don’t know why. But I won’t fail her this time...”
“Can you hear me, sir?”
Jason instinctively swiped at the robot, and pain flared through his thigh due to the sudden movement.
“Fire!” he heard the admiral saying.
Jason lifted his head groggily. Everyone was at their stations, and the admiral stood beside the captain’s chair with his hands laced behind him. On the holo-screen, a large red laser beam ringed with glowing green rings shot away from the ship and hit Pluto’s equator. The celestial rock began to glow bright red, before exploding into a billion pieces—embers that shot in all directions into space and died out just as quickly.
“The Valkyries have been destroyed,” Killian reported, before stealing a glance back at Jason.
Jason’s head lolled involuntarily, and he tried to focus on the holo-screen. “Hey, I was gonna do that,” he mumbled to no one in particular.
The admiral regarded him with a grim grin. “How long to the Termination Shock, Cameron?”
“Fifteen minutes,” said Charlie. She too stole a glance at Jason, and he tried to wink, though he had no plan.
“Hey, Admiral, you got a drink?” Jason asked.
“Can’t teach an old dog new tricks, can you?” said the admiral.
“Hey, Pal, you still batting for the other team?”
“If you mean, am I following the admiral’s orders, sir, then yes. I am.”
Jason laughed groggily, his head swimming. “Hey, Pal, knock, knock.”
Pal glanced at the admiral. “Who’s there?”
“Fuck!” said Jason.
Pal’s digital face frowned, and he bowed his head. “Fuck who, sir?”
“Fuck the admiral! I know you’re in there, Pal. If you ever were a part of this crew, prove it now!”
Jason watched eagerly.
Pal perked up, glancing at the admiral.
The crew watched on.
The admiral frowned.
They all waited.
“I...” Pal twitched. “Quiet, prisoner.”
His face turned back to black.
Jason let out a sigh.
The admiral smirked.
“Are you quite done?” he asked Jason.
“Fuck you, man. I didn’t mean for that to happen to Thomas. I loved him like a brother. I mourned him like a brother.”
“Don’t speak his name!” the admiral suddenly erupted, spittle flying from his frothing mouth like a rabid wolf.
“Thomas!” Jason cried. “Thomas! He was your son. He died. I’m sorry! Christ’s sake, why—”
The admiral shot him in the arm. It only grazed him this time, but his wounds had been adding up, and he was high already. He began to feel light-headed.
“Stop this!” Charlie screamed.
When the admiral turned his gun toward her, Jason sprang out of the chair with every ounce of strength he had left in him. He crashed into the admiral like a drunken old man and was easily pushed back into the chair.
The admiral brought the gun up under Jason’s chin and leaned in, his face inches from Jason’s.
“Don’t hurt my father!”
The scream came from the comm, as well as from Pal 2000, but it wasn’t Pal’s voice, it was that of a little girl. The robot suddenly came to life with a grim and determined face. He grabbed the admiral’s gun hand and snapped the wrist, before grabbing the man by the collar and head butting him in the nose.
The admiral lay unconscious on the floor, and Pal was staring at his hands as if surprised. Killian was already up out of his station and grabbing the admiral’s dropped weapon. He stood and aimed it at the old man’s head.
“Wait,” said Jason. “Let him live. He doesn’t deserve to leave yet.”
“Oh, Jason,” said Charlie. She was shaking as she reached toward him, not knowing how to touch him. He must have been in shock for much of his time in the jail cell, and he was still high as hell from that concoction Pal had given him, but the wounds and the blood loss were adding up.
“We are passing through the Termination Shock now,” said Jane.
Everyone looked at the holo-screen, and as if a veil had been lifted, the already brilliant stars gleamed with radiant color. Galaxies came alive in the distance, and a humming began deep in the ship.
“What’s that sound?” asked Killian.
Everyone looked around dubiously. The sound seemed to surround them from all sides, not originating or ending anywhere, just continuing endlessly. Pal perked up then, no longer contemplating his hands.
“The little girl, she is awake,” he said, and then he looked at Jason, “I am sorry, Captain. I have not been myself since we were attacked...or before that. I do not remember. I believe Kaito could fill you in.”
Kaito was glancing around with a look of uncertainty and then, with a sudden confidence, strode to the admiral and kicked him in the stomach three times.
“That’s for threatening my wife and son!” he said as he continued to kick the admiral. “And that one’s for Erik!.”
Without another look he fled down the hallway to the engine room.
Jason had only heard Pal’s first words. ‘The little girl, she is awake.’ They echoed in his mind even as the music of the carousel increased. He had to see her.
“Ember,” he whispered.
“Shh,” Charlie begged, cradling his head. Her tears fell upon his chin, dancing around with the blood like water to oil.
“Bring me to the engine room,” said Jason.
“H-Drive activation commencing,” said Jane. “H-Drive jump in exactly sixty seconds.”
Pal 2000 walked over to Jason and put a hand on his shoulder. Jason groaned as Killian approached.
“I’ve got you, sir,” said his new XO.
Charlie followed as Killian hurriedly marched Jason to the engine room. When they arrived, they found a timid looking Kaito standing beside the egg-shaped pod.
“Kaito,” said Jason. “Can you stop the jump?”
“There’s nothing I can do. The admiral had it rigged so that there is absolutely no override. Hell, I wouldn’t even know how to do it anyway. We are going no matter what.”
“Thirty seconds until H-Drive jump,” said Jane.
“I’ve got to see her,” Jason croaked. In the distance of his memory the admiral’s words echoed, It’s like a living ember. Its glow never stops. It seems like such a small thing, but its power is that of a dying star.
Jane began to count down.
“Ten...”
“Nine...”
“Eight...”
“Seven...”
“Six...”
“Maybe on the other side,” said Kaito.
Charlie and Pal hugged Jason and together they resolved themselves to whatever fate lay ahead.
“Five...”
“Four...”
“Three...”
“Two...”
“One ...”
“H-Drive jump activated.”
Chapter 26
Break on Through to the Other Side
Time seemed to stop, and Jason watched helplessly as the pod in front of him began to stretch away from him into the black
ness of space. He heard a soft voice giggling, and a sudden flash of light blinded him. Weightlessness struck him for a moment, but the moment soon passed, and he opened his eyes.
When he came to, he was lying on the floor. Kaito and Charlie were on the floor as well, but they were slowly beginning to stand.
“Jane, where the hell are we?” Jason asked.
“I am still trying to determine our location, sir.”
“Captain, the EMP has fired!” came Killian’s warning over the com.
Jason looked up at Pal, and he wondered if he was dreaming.
“Sir ...your vitals ...your wounds...”
“They’re healing!” said Charlie as she rushed over to him.
Jason opened the hole torn into his pants wider, and to his amazement, he found the blaster wound had healed.
Charlie, Kaito, and even Pal 2000 watched in amazement as Jason stood on strong legs. He looked down at his wrists, shackles removed and free once again. They didn’t look half as bad as he would have expected, and they didn’t hurt too bad either. He glanced at the wound on his arm, but that too was gone, and only dried blood remained over the smooth skin. He looked up, wide-eyed. “Am I dreaming?”
Pal 2000 moved past everyone, and a wide laser beam scanned Jason. The emoji face ...well, it looked to not quite know what to think. “Sir. Your cellular regeneration is extremely elevated. You are healing at an amazing rate. And your readings ...I don’t understand.”
“Welcome to hell, Pal,” said Jason, slapping Pal’s shoulder.
“Jason...” Charlie walked over to him and kissed him deep on the mouth.
“What the hell’s going on, Cap?” said Kaito.
“I’ll speak with you later,” said Jason, pointing a stiff finger at the engineer. “Now open up the goddamned pod.”
Kaito nodded, defeated, and moved to the control module. “I’m sorry, Cap. I’m sorry I kept this from you. But they needed someone ...they threatened my family.”
“Just open it.”
Kaito typed out his command on the holo-board, and the spinning chrome sphere slowly came to a stop.
“Captain, you still with us?” It was Killian.
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