by Luigi Robles
“That’s the last of the heavy ships,” Eora confirmed. “And there are only two scout ships remaining on Earth.”
Fain was now face to face with the colossal enemy flagship and heading straight for it at full speed.
“Kya, I’m going to need you to work closely with me on this one,” Fain said.
“That won’t be a problem,” Kya said.
The flagship had fully turned to face Sodenia, and its claw-like limbs began transforming and rising once again. But Fain kept heading towards it.
“We are on the bridge,” Larissa said. “And the drones are ready for launch.”
“Good. I need everyone at their stations and strapped in,” Fain said. “This might be a bumpy ride.”
“Eighty thousand miles and closing,” Eora said. “Target is well within range.”
“Get ready to fire all cannons apart from the main cannons,” Fain said. “Fire at my command.”
“Copy,” Eora said.
Fain closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to get a clear picture of what he was about to do. He thought about everything that had just happened, how the Acram behaved, and the things that did and didn’t make sense to him. He exhaled. When he opened his eyes again, he was in command—in command of his feelings, his body, and the situation. His mind was set.
“There’s a large buildup of energy coming from the flagship,” Kya said.
“Seventy thousand miles and closing,” Eora said.
“Fire,” Fain said as he accelerated towards the flagship.
“The cannons aren’t piercing their shield,” August said.
“Fire the main cannons at two percent of their power, and stop firing the larger cannons,” Fain said as he abruptly stopped accelerating. “Kya, reroute all power we don’t use to the boosters.”
Fain accelerated the ship once more, then abruptly stopped again after only a few seconds.
“Pycca, I need you to drop our shield,” Fain said, gripping the controls. “Eora, stop firing all cannons one by one, and turn all Gatling turrets towards the flagship. Fire the Gatling turrets at will.”
Fain saw the shield drop, and the turrets began to fire at the flagship. The crew trusted him to do the right thing, and they trusted him to win. He wasn’t about to let them down.
“Deploy the drones,” Fain said as he accelerated and stopped once again. “Get them as close as necessary to fire the missiles, and have one of them detonate halfway there.”
“Deploying rigged drones,” Eora said.
“Kya, whatever power I am not using,” Fain said, “after I accelerate for more than five seconds, send it to the Fate cannons.”
The drones headed towards the flagship, with one of them exploding midway, just as Fain had requested. The explosion looked minute in comparison to the previous explosions, or even the ship itself. But before the missiles were able to launch from the drones themselves, the flagship fired several small beams, destroying the drones along with the missiles.
“Eora, stop firing the Gatling turrets one by one,” Fain said as he brought Sodenia to a halt.
“The high concentration of energy from the enemy ship is dropping,” Kya said. “It appears they are sending smaller ships to intercept Sodenia.”
“I’ve learned a lot in our first venture into space,” Fain said, directing his voice to the bridge. “I’ve learned the capabilities of this ship and crew, and I am fairly sure we are just scratching the surface of both. And it’s because of that capacity and those abilities that we are here now, unafraid to look the enemy in the eye. But I’ve also learned something about the Acram throughout all of this, and that might just be their weakness. I’ve learned something about the so-called conquerors of the universe. I’ve learned that they are arrogant, and they aren’t willing to win if it means using their full strength, and that’s going to cost them dearly today. Because today, we end this. Today, we win. Get ready to turn on the shield at full power, and fire the Fate cannons on my mark.”
Fain accelerated Sodenia with everything it had, and the ship roared to life, pushing through space with the power of a star. He halved the distance between the flagship and Sodenia in a matter of seconds. The force pushed Fain back into his seat and almost took the air out of his lungs.
“Shield up. Fire the main cannons,” Fain yelled as he took his hand off the accelerator and killed the engines completely. “Give it everything we’ve got.”
Fain saw the massive flagship for only a few seconds before the Fate cannons erupted and their light obliterated his view. The main cannons managed to consume all the power stored in the battery modules within seconds. It was clear when Kya began feeding the cannons power straight from the ship’s quasar heart, as the light transitioned from orange to blue. The ship was beginning to shake under the massive stress of keeping such a powerful beam alive for so long.
“Captain?” August asked.
“We are dangerously close to overheating,” Eora said as the ship shook.
“Just a little longer,” Fain said. “We have to make sure. We won’t have another shot.”
“Fain?” Pycca asked.
“Fain!” Larissa yelled.
“Cease fire,” Fain said, reacting to Larissa’s voice. “Reroute all power back to normal and check all systems.”
When the light cleared, Fain couldn’t believe his eyes. More than half of the massive flagship was gone, and the other half was destroying itself with a series of explosions.
“Are you seeing this?” Fain asked as he began to move Sodenia away.
“We are seeing it,” August said, unable to hide his cheerfulness. “That’s the end for them, and we are still alive. I almost can’t believe it.”
“We are seeing it alright,” Pycca said. “But Sodenia is severely damaged. Nearly all systems are overheating. If we don’t land soon, that could be us.”
“I hear you loud and clear,” Fain said. “We are heading to Earth.”
Fain was able to hear the cheering crew from the bridge all the way to the command room.
“Kya, monitor the ship as best you can until there’s nothing left of it,” Fain said, taking off his four-point seatbelt. “And one more thing—will you be able to land the ship on Earth?”
“Both things will not be a problem,” Kya said. “Where would you like the ship to land?”
“Let’s make it the same place as we took off,” Fain said as he lowered his pilot’s seat back down to the bridge. “If that’s possible. Keep me informed.”
The crew cheered for Fain, but he was quick to stop them.
“Things aren’t over yet, not by a long shot,” Fain said, putting his hands up and gesturing for them to stop. “And there are still two scout ships unaccounted for somewhere on Earth.”
The crew members went back to their stations and began checking the ship and following orders from Pycca and Larissa. As they headed back to Earth at a comfortable speed, Fain patiently waited for the two scout ships to appear or be detected.
But he didn’t have to wait long. Halfway through their return journey, Eora’s voice came through the coms. “Two scout ships detected. It appears they are attempting to leave Earth.”
“Show them that coming to attack Earth is a one-way trip,” Fain said. “And let’s hope that they hear the message loud and clear.”
Epilogue
Sodenia landed on Earth near the same small island that it had blasted off from; the island itself was a few feet underwater. Fain felt uneasy about his decision. Something told him that it wasn’t right. He should have consulted with Colonel Green before landing, but now it was too late. He had walked into a clear disadvantage. He was mentally preparing himself to deal with the consequences of his decision. Fain knew that if he had stayed in space, negotiations wouldn’t have been one-sided.
“There’s nothing left of the Acram fleet,” Eora chimed in.
“Eora, thank you,” Fain said. “Kya, can you confirm?”
“I can confirm t
hat we’ve seen the last of the Acram fleet,” Kya said. “Over half of the flagship has self-destructed.”
“Open her up,” Fain said. “It’s time to breathe some fresh air.”
Every door on the ship that was able to open to the outside did, and people began to walk off the ship and onto the small underwater island. Most didn’t seem to care about the knee-deep water; they just looked happy to be back home.
“Fain, are you coming?” August asked as he, Pycca, and Larissa headed towards the bridge door that led to the corridor.
“Yeah, Fain, come on,” Larissa said.
“I will go in a little while,” Fain said. “Go on ahead.”
“If you don’t come out in ten minutes,” Larissa said, “I will come and get you, Fain Jegga.”
That put a smile on his face, and he simply nodded in agreement. The three left, along with everyone else on the bridge, leaving Fain by himself.
“I am guessing they want to make sure this isn’t just a dream,” Kya said. “They want to make sure that we are truly on Earth and that this is real life.”
“Since when do you guess?” Fain asked.
“When it comes to understanding human emotion,” Kya said, “I have always guessed. To truly understand human emotion, what every feeling really means, is beyond my capabilities.”
“Heck, you aren’t alone in that,” Fain said. “I think that’s what makes us human. The fact that we can’t understand everything; the fact that we don’t know it all. And I like that. It is because of our inscrutable emotions that hope never truly dies.”
“May I ask a question?” Kya asked.
“Sure, go ahead. Ask me anything you want,” Fain said.
“Since when did you know about philosophy?” Kya said. “I didn’t see that anywhere in your profile.”
Fain laughed out loud for the first time in what seemed like forever.
“And now you’ve learned how to joke as well,” Fain said, wiping a tear from his eye. “You are advancing every day.”
“On a more serious matter,” Kya said, “Colonel Green is trying to reach you. This is the first time he has tried to reach you since the destruction of the Acram fleet.”
“Put him through,” Fain said.
“Fain, did we do it? Did we win?” Green asked, sounding stressed. “I tried to see as much as I could, but we had our hands full down here. Please tell me that we won.”
“I can tell you, Colonel Green, that we’ve won this battle,” Fain said.
“My God, Fain, thank you so much. We get to live another day,” Green said, sounding like he was sobbing, like a world of stress had been relieved. “We were thinking it was all over. We were thinking that this would be humanity’s last day on Earth.”
“You don’t have to thank me, sir. It was not an obligation; it was a responsibility,” Fain said.
“Regardless, son,” Green said, full of sincerity, “you have my thanks. Humanity owes you and the crew of the ship big time. Let’s just hope we can make them understand that.”
“What do you mean, sir?” Fain asked, realizing that his initial worries might come to life.
“First, please tell me that it was not Sodenia landing back on that island,” Green said.
“Indeed it was, sir,” Fain said. “We need extensive repairs; we couldn’t stay in space for much longer. We had to bring her down.”
“Although I knew you were going to say that, I was hoping that you wouldn’t,” Green said. “You see, Fain, the council members here on Earth are pretty pissed that their counterparts on the ship were killed. And they are trying to find someone to blame, or any excuse to take over the ship once again. They’ve taken your landing as a sign of disobedience against a direct order, and they are holding you and the flight crew responsible. Now that you are here on Earth, the council loyalists will not have any problem turning and pointing fingers at you and the crew. There are also many nations trying to pull out of the ESAF. Things aren’t looking too great.”
“What the hell?” Fain said, trying to stay calm. “We do all of this, and this is how they treat us?”
“I know how you feel,” Green said. “I had my ass chewed out many times and almost got court-martialed for speaking in your defense. There’s already talk of replacing you and the flight crew. But we will do our best not to let that happen. Unlike the politicians and council members, we, like the people of Earth, are well aware of what you’ve done for us. But for now, we have to lie low and not give them any other reason to replace you.”
“So, what will happen now?” Fain asked.
“There is a navy fleet on its way to pick you up and bring you in,” Green said. “You shouldn’t be arrested. Quite the opposite. You will be treated and presented as heroes once you reach the nation’s capital. Expect to be giving speeches and such. But you will also not be allowed near Sodenia until this matter is resolved. Just be patient and inform the flight crew of this with utmost discretion.”
“I understand, sir,” Fain said.
“But don’t forget, Fain,” Green said, “there are many of us on your side. We owe you a great deal. Just be patient until we can figure out a way around this.”
“OK, sir, I will try my best,” Fain said.
“I will see you soon in the capital,” Green said. “And Fain, thanks again.”
How can they be so selfish? It’s like it knows no bounds, Fain thought. We just saved their lives and they are looking for a way to end ours. Damn.
“I don’t know what will happen now, Kya,” Fain said. “Knowing them, things could go either way. This might be the last time I see Sodenia or hear your voice.”
“This will not be the last time you’ll see Sodenia, or hear my voice,” Kya said, sounding a bit different. Her voice no longer sounded disembodied; it sounded so human. “Or see me, even. I won’t let that happen. I won’t allow it. There will only ever be one captain of Sodenia, and that is you, Fain Jegga. I have already disabled the firewall that prevented me from controlling the ship. Things are much easier for me to do nowadays.”
“What? What do you mean?” Fain said as he turned towards the direction the voice was coming from. “K-Kya?”
Fain couldn’t believe his eyes. In front of him was a woman. She had long silver hair and green eyes, and she was almost as tall as him. She had a perfect figure, straight out of a movie. If it wasn’t for the lines along her hands and neck and parts of her face, she would one hundred percent pass as human. She wore a uniform similar to that of the flight crew but without any markings or buttons. Fain had a hard time closing his mouth.
“Surprised?” Kya said cheerfully, tilting her head.
“How? How? When?” Fain asked, rapidly blinking, trying to comprehend. “What?”
Kya smiled.
1
Aftermath
It had been six months since ESAF paraded Fain Jegga, and Sodenia's flight crew through the streets of Washington, D.C. Fain, along with the flight crew, had been proclaimed a national hero and were given award after award, medal after medal. The world had been saved thanks to his courage, they said, among other nice things.
None of that mattered now. Those times were over, and now it was almost as if he’d had nothing to do with saving the world. The media quickly forgot about him and the crew that saved the world once politicians got in the mix. They managed to turn the saving of the world into a political nightmare.
The new CO, General Simons, was in charge of space exploration and defense, bypassing ESAF altogether. He reassured Fain that his new assignment was temporary, but that was when it was first presented to him, and he hadn’t heard from Simons since. To Fain, it seemed like an eternity ago.
What a load of bullshit, Fain thought. They should have just locked us up or something. I think I would have preferred that. Damn it. If we were so dangerous, why not just come out and say it? This is so stupid. I don’t see any way of getting out of this rut anytime soon. Who would have thought that saving the world wo
uld mean so little? Who would have thought that they would purposely make us disappear?
Fain had held on to his captain title within ESAF, but instead of being the captain of an alien spaceship like Sodenia, he was the captain of a small recovery boat, the Cornelia. The new boat was modern, slick, and fast on the water. It came equipped with all the current technologies, but it was still just a boat in the end.
His new assignment was to locate, recover, and classify any alien debris that might have fallen into the ocean. Since Sodenia’s battle with the Acram and their subspecies above Earth, a ton of alien debris had made it through the atmosphere and landed in the ocean. But it was a mindlessly easy task, that with a little training anyone one can do. All those years of training, of hard work, of sleepless nights, were becoming worthless. The thought of it made his chest burn.
“Captain,” Chuck said without looking up from his station, “radar shows we are within two hundred feet of Artifact t 319A.”
Fain sighed internally, trying to keep his composure. He hated his new job. He hated the salty smell of the ocean first thing in the morning. And not just ordinary hate; he loathed. The last six months haven't been easy for Fain. He didn’t think of his new position as a simple downgrade, he thought of it as punishment.
It’s hard to believe that this is only the second alien artifact of the day, and there are still fourteen to go, Fain thought. Being annihilated by the Acram is starting to sound not so bad after all. Much better than a lifetime of monotony.
Fain sipped his coffee.
“Captain?” Chuck asked, turning to face Fain.
“Oh, right,” Fain said, snapping back to reality. “Cut our current speed in half. Once we are at fifty feet, cut the speed to one knot.” Then Fain turned to look at his first officer. “Olivia, start getting the recovery crew and equipment ready. Let’s get this one done in a jiffy.”
“Yes, Captain,” Olivia said. “Right away.”
“Is everything OK, sir?” Chuck asked once Olivia had left the wheelhouse. “I noticed that you are a little more off than usual.”
