by Luigi Robles
“August, you should take that,” Larissa said as her screen lit up with the same call. “Kya is sending it to us, trying not to disturb Fain. Maybe he and Eora are the only reason we are still alive.”
“This is Sodenia,” August said, trying to keep it together.
“This is Radio One. We are irreparably damaged and currently fleeing from the enemy. We need to jump away from here if we are to survive.”
“Jump!” August said without a moment of hesitation.
Seconds later, Radio One disappeared from the list, though August didn’t know if it was because of the jump or because they had been destroyed.
August’s heart felt heavy, and he was having a hard time breathing. The situation was looking dire. Then a request for more ammunition flooded the entirety of August’s station, as the Gatling turrets were running out of ammunition. All 800 Gatling turrets were on their last belt. The same barrage of messages was coming through Larissa’s station.
The Gatling turrets were the only thing keeping the swarm of small ships away from Sodenia. Without the turrets, it was only a matter of time before they breached the ship’s shield.
August and Larissa looked at each other, and they both shook their heads in defeat.
So, August did the only thing he could do: he asked the turret operation teams to abandon their stations, to seek refuge or to go to their quarters. The last decision was up to them.
When the messages cleared from August’s screen, he saw the one thing that would mark their doom. Sodenia’s shields were already down to fifty percent, and the increasing blasts from the enemy Armada could already be felt inside the ship in the form of reverberations and metallic groans.
August turned to look at the main screen on the bridge, and he saw how the enemy ships were now moving towards Sodenia, all except one.
He jumped away from his station and ran towards the center console and zoomed in on that one lonely ship away from the Acram formation. As the screen zoomed past the incoming enemy ships, he saw that the large ships were taking heavy damage dealt by Sodenia’s powerful cannons. As the lonely ship came into view, he saw that the ship didn’t blend in quite as well with the rest of the Armada. The lonely ship looked old and worn. It wasn’t as large as even the medium-sized ships of the Armada, and its color was off; it was a lighter color instead of the usual crimson red.
Could it be that August had just found one of the leaders, if not the leader, of the Golden Armada? Why else would an Armada of a million ships bring an old, outdated ship to battle? It made no tactical sense. It had to be it.
“Sodenia, this is your captain speaking.” Fain’s strained voice sounded over the PA system. “As much as I hate saying this, it looks like we’ve lost. We’ll make an attempt to go into FLT before our shields are completely gone.”
August took a glance at the remaining shield power; it was at fifteen percent and dropping.
If that ship was indeed the leader of the Golden Armada, this could be the only chance they would ever have at striking a real blow to the Golden Armada. But what if August was wrong? What if pursuing a ship that might or might not be the leader would end up killing them all? August had never been more confused on what to do in his life. He knew that whatever he decided would have a supreme impact on the future of the human race.
“Perhaps we can regroup with Radio One, if they are still out there, and perhaps we can think of something else to do,” Fain continued. “There’s no sense in fighting an impossible fight, and there’s no sense in wasting your lives in the process. Regardless of how I feel, your lives are not mine to put to waste. We’ll be attempting FTL in t-minus 30 seconds, after we fire the Fate cannons one last—”
“Wait, wait,” August said loudly, with clear stress in his voice. “Kya, interrupt Fain if you haven’t already, because I’ve just found it.”
“Found what?” Fain asked as Sodenia shook from a large impact.
“I think I found the leader of the Golden Armada,” August said hurriedly.
“Where?” Fain asked.
“Kya, please,” August said, knowing she would be the fastest in getting the information to Fain.
“We are going to make a change of plans,” Fain said over the PA system. “This might be the only chance we’ll ever get; the only chance Earth will ever get.”
“Whatever you decide, Captain,” August said. “You should know I’m with you.”
“Same thing here,” Larissa seconded.
“We’ll follow you wherever necessary,” Pycca said through the coms.
“We aren’t ones to back down,” Eora chimed in through the coms.
Fain’s communications were flooded with overwhelming approval from everyone on board the ship. So, he turned Sodenia towards the lonely ship and accelerated towards it.
“Eora, keep the Fate cannons charged,” Fain said.
“The Fate cannons will only be able to fire one or two more times,” Eora said hurriedly. “The cooling system is overheating. Pycca is already down there, but I’m not sure how much it can take.”
“One or two shots is all we need,” Fain said.
On its way towards the supposed leader of the fleet, Sodenia was bombarded by the Armada’s firepower. It was as if they were trying to stop them from getting near that ship. It only took a few seconds for Sodenia to lose the last of its shields, leaving it vulnerable to the enemy attacks. Like rain on a metal roof, Fain felt each and every one of the enemy’s direct hits. Warnings were flashing all over his control console.
There were several instances where Fain thought they wouldn’t make it much longer. But Sodenia’s build was true; she was a solid ship. And when Sodenia got closer to the odd ship in the fleet, it all came to a stop.
It didn’t take Fain long to realize why the attacks had come to a stop. It was because they were already too close to the odd ship in the fleet, and the Armada wasn’t going to risk shooting down one of theirs, especially if one of the leaders of the Armada was on board the ship.
Fain approached the ship slowly, lining Sodenia up head-on with what appeared to be its front. He couldn’t be sure, but if logic existed in the Acram world, it was. Sodenia was now face to face with the enemy.
Fain didn’t fire right away. There was no point in destroying just another Acram ship; Sodenia’s Fate cannons had already destroyed tens of thousands of them. He needed to somehow find out if that was indeed the leader of the Acram Armada.
“Fain,” Kya said. “We are being hailed.”
Fain’s heart pounded hard, as he knew chances were that in mere moments he would be face to face with one of the Acram leaders. Then it happened: an Acram appeared on the large spherical screen.
“Congratulations.” Captions appeared, as the enemy spoke in Acram. “You’ve found me.”
“And who might you be?” Fain asked.
“I am Noble Saavan,” Saavan said. “Commander of the Acram Armada. And you are?”
“I am Captain Fain Jegga of ESAF Sodenia,” Fain said with conviction. “Surrender immediately, and I will spare your ship. We can negotiate for peace.”
“Captain, destroying my ship won’t stop my Armada from destroying yours,” Saavan said. “I hope that you’ve brought a better plan to the podium.”
“Destroying us won’t be that easy,” Fain said. “Meanwhile, the ashes of the Golden Armada’s great leader will be floating somewhere in space.”
“It’s Noble,” Saavan said with gritted teeth.
Fain simply nodded. He didn’t want to provoke the powerful alien.
“I’ve conquered countless civilizations throughout the galaxy,” Saavan said. “I’ve been kind to all those I’ve conquered, and I will do the same for you, here and now. Surrender your ship, and I will see to it that Earth will not be visited by us in the form of war ever again. You will be an Acram subspecies without further conflict. You have my word as a Noble.”
“Not gonna happen,” Fain said. “Sodenia is a part of Earth, and i
t stays with Earth. Earth’s sovereignty is not up for negotiation.”
Fain knew that if he were to surrender Sodenia, that would mark the end of humanity as he knew it. If humanity wanted to continue to be a space-faring civilization, Sodenia was their only hope to survive whatever space threw at them.
“That is a grave mistake, Captain Jegga,” Saavan said. “There is much you don’t understand about the Acram and our mission in this galaxy. Our mission is bigger than you know. Defying us will only mark the end of you.”
“And there’s only one thing you don’t understand about humans,” Fain said as he slid his hand over to the Alcubierre drive lever.
“What is the one thing?” Saavan asked.
“That humans,” Fain said, readying to have Eora fire and to go into FLT, “like to be free.”
Fain muted himself out of the conversation to instruct Eora to fire, but then he saw an array of dots appearing on the radar. The new dots were multiplying by the second, and most were behind Sodenia, at odds with the large Armada. With a push of a button, Fain’s view screen turned, and he saw the many thousands of ships lining up astern from Sodenia.
There were thousands upon thousands of ships of all shapes and sizes lining up in formation behind Sodenia, and there was no sign of slowing down. Even Radio One appeared once again on the radar towards the rear of the new fleet, making it clear that they were on Sodenia’s side.
Despite their rapidly growing numbers, it was easy to see that the Golden Armada still outnumbered the new incoming fleet.
“I will give this one to you, Captain Jegga,” Saavan said. “Never in my life did I think I’d be alive to witness an event like this. You have managed to bring the galaxy together, uniting them against a single cause. I will refrain from any further persecution. You will be hearing from me again soon. But for now, I will withdraw the Golden Armada.”
Was Saavan happy about this? Fain wasn’t able to tell exactly what was going through the powerful alien’s head. And now he was retreating?
What is going on? Fain wondered. He can easily still fight this battle and probably win.
“Until next time, Captain Jegga.”
Fain nodded, and Saavan disappeared from Fain’s spherical viewer.
The lonely ship turned slowly away from Sodenia, and the Golden Armada began to move away as well. Moments later, they disappeared from the radar completely.
“This is Radio One,” Elenon said as his name appeared on Fain’s console. “Sodenia, can you hear me?”
“Radio One, we hear you loud and clear,” Fain said. “What’s your status, and who are our new friends?”
“I regret to inform you that we have suffered some casualties,” Elenon said.
Fain felt as if Elenon’s words weighed a hundred pounds each.
“How many?” Fain asked as he braced for the answer.
“Twelve,” Elenon said. “Twelve drone pilots, as one of the control rooms was breached by the enemy’s weapons.”
Fain couldn’t help but feel responsible for the deaths of the pilots, but he also knew that there was nothing else he could have done to save them. He then wondered if Sodenia had suffered any casualties. He knew that he would find out in due time, perhaps when the dust had settled.
“Is there additional danger to Radio One?” Fain asked.
“Not anymore,” Elenon said. “While badly damaged, our life support systems are running well.”
“And who are our new friends?” Fain asked. “Well, at least I hope they are friendlies.”
“We picked them up on the radar before they made their last jump here,” Elenon said. “They responded to the message about your victory the same way we did. When one of their probes saw that we were building a fleet, they decided to join us. Most of them are civilizations situated near to our own that have yet to be conquered by the Acram, and some come from further away in the galaxy. Would you like to speak with them?”
“I would love to.”
After a quick briefing to the crew of Sodenia, Fain spoke with each one of the different alien races; there was a total of seventy-seven of them, each commanding up to ten thousand ships. Fain offered each one of them the ability to establish further communications and work together to finally extinguish the Acram threat. All seventy-seven races accepted. One by one, the friendly alien fleets went back to their homeworlds, until only Radio One and Sodenia remained.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but we are heading back to Earth,” Fain said with a sigh of relief. “Radio One and the Vieron Vasteos are coming back with us until we figure out what to do next. But for now, it’s all over.”
Epilogue
Saavan waited for the elders in front of the dais inside the main hall of Aisumer. He was early, as always. The only thing that was different this time around was that he had been the only Noble called to the hall. Usually, as had happened many times in the past, those Nobles that were called to the great hall of Aisumer by themselves were never heard of again, and it didn’t take Saavan long to find out why.
The four elders entered the hall surrounded by specialized and heavily armed Acram. The rest of the doors that led in and out of the hall also opened, only to reveal more heavily armed guards.
So, this is how they execute Nobles? Saavan thought. Pathetic. They will turn their backs on those who have served them their entire lives to retain the last bit of power they have over the people of Acrania.
Saavan did not fear death. He had always been ready to die for what he believed in. But he wasn’t planning on dying here and now, and especially not at the hands of the elders. He wouldn’t give them that pleasure.
The armed Acram surrounded Saavan as the elders stepped onto the dais. Saavan bowed his head slightly as they walked towards him. He wanted them to feel like he still respected them.
“Highest of Nobles,” Irah said, stepping forward. “What have you done? You were the greatest of all Nobles. You have conquered all that you’ve set your eyes on. And yet, when once again victory was certain, you pulled back the Golden Armada. Why?”
“Because we achieved what we set out to do,” Saavan said as he met Irah’s gaze. “The Acram cause was achieved in its entirety. Not in the way that you intended, but it was met. So, there is no need to further destroy our civilization trying to obtain what the galaxy already has.”
“There’s no further need to fight for the cause?” Thromos said as he stepped forward. “Have you gone insane, Saavan? The Acram will stop fighting when we say they will stop fighting. Not you.”
“Noble,” Saavan said, shooting a defiant gaze at Thromos.
“Why is it that you think we no longer need to fight?” Wendea asked in a normal tone of voice that, in comparison to the others, sounded kind.
“I haven’t forgotten the story you told me as a young Acram warrior,” Saavan said as he looked at Wendea. “Before we fought—”
“Saavan, do not explain the cause to us,” Thromos said, interrupting Saavan. “We are well aware of what the Acram cause states.”
“It’s Noble,” Saavan said, glaring at Thromos. “I won’t tell you again. And what’s the matter with me telling you about the same thing you preach? Don’t tell me that you fear for these uninitiated and pure Acram to hear it?”
“How dare you talk to me that way?” Thromos said with visible, boiling anger. “I am an elder, and you are just a lowly Acram. Know your place. Enough of this insolence.”
Saavan looked around the room at each one of the armed guards.
“So, you are better than us?” Saavan asked.
“In every possible way,” Thromos said.
Saavan had got exactly what he wanted—Thromos had doomed the elders. Amongst the Acram, the elders had the image of being benevolent and kind. They dedicated their long lives in complete servitude to the Acram cause, but the facade was now falling.
“We still need to hear his side before making a decision,” Wendea said.
The other three eld
ers looked at her as if they did not agree with her decision.
“Before we fought, before we conquered,” Saavan said, “the Acram set out to try to unify the galaxy by making them aware of the possible threat. Civilizations did not listen, therefore we conquered in an effort to try to unify them. Half a conquered galaxy and many generations of Acram later, we had only managed to instill fear upon the galaxy instead of salvation. But I’ve witnessed unification happen on its own. I’ve witnessed the cause we have sacrificed so many Acram lives for finally come to fruition. I’ve witnessed an array of yet-to-be-conquered civilizations unify under a single cause to defeat an enemy. I’ve witnessed this.”
“But it’s unification against you,” Wendea said. “Unification against us.”
“Unification, nonetheless,” Saavan said. “I’m not sure if it justifies what we’ve done to half of the galaxy. But what I am sure is that we don’t have to fight anymore. We can return to a normal, demilitarized Acram lifestyle. We no longer have to force our offspring to fight, to live out their lives thinking only of the bogus cause. And if the machines do come, we will unite—”
“Saavan, you will nothing,” Thromos yelled. “Guards, execute this blasphemous creature.”
The guards did nothing; they just looked at each other.
“Scatter,” Saavan said in the ancient language, aiming his words directly at Thromos.
Thromos yelled in pain before his body collapsed to the floor.
“Anyone else?” Saavan asked. “Now, where were we?”
Sodenia arrived near Earth’s orbit at nearly the same time as the Vieron Vasteos and Radio One. But unlike the other two ships, Fain had to decelerate Sodenia from FTL to normal speed near the moon’s orbit.
Before Fain made his way down to the bridge, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, easing up for the first time since they had set out into the asteroid belt. It felt good to take so much weight off his shoulders. He moved his neck from one side to the other, hearing it crack in such a satisfying way that it melted him into his seat.
