SODIUM:6 Defiance

by Arseneault, Stephen

  I switched the holo-display in front of me to the bridge of an adjoining ship and was witness to a fierce fire-fight taking place. The Marines had landed in force on the Ogle ship and were pushing forward rapidly. I changed views to a second ship and again was rewarded with what appeared to be a highly successful assault being fully underway.

  As I reached for a holo-key to select the next ship my hand froze. There, on the display that sat before me, was Zack and his sons. Their squad moved like a precision machine taking down every bit of resistance the Ogle placed in their way. For a moment I was lost in the battle before realizing my time was limited.

  I quickly flipped my screen to a new Ogle ship that was part of another pod and selected the fire button on the holo-display. A sharp focused beam of neutrons cut a hard line through three of the Ogle ships. Secondary explosions then rocked the pod before their adjoined weapon went silent. A quick scan of the battlefield then told me that the Ogle had 32 such pods engaged in the battle.

  I then turned my attention back to the Ogle ship with Zack and his sons. They had nearly cleared the bridge when an overwhelming counter-attack ensued. Ogle soldiers flooded onto the bridge and the Marines began to take heavy fire. As I watched Zack and his team were being slowly pushed back before being pinned down, but they were holding strong.

  A second squad then unleashed an explosive device on a neutron tube. With the destructive power of a ground based coil gun the explosion created a small breach in the tube. A fine blue stream of neutrons poured out instantly destroying everything in its path. That beam then struck a second tube, losing a second stream of neutrons. The pattern continued as the ship began to slowly destroy itself.

  My attention was then returned to my situation as the last of the initial round of overloaded blasters detonated. As I drifted off the bridge the first team of Ogle to arrive was greeted with another overload blast. I then began my second round of setting up my weapons. My timings for placement of the weapons could not have been better. Eight minutes later I returned to the bridge and again unleashed a flurry of blaster bolts into the cats that had arrived. This time however, they fired back.

  I bounced from wall to wall firing from different angles to keep up a level of confusion that would allow my continued fight. Two more blasters were set for rapid overload and then tossed down from the high decks onto those occupied by the Ogle. Four minutes later the bridge was again clear as I made my way back to the weapons station.

  A second beam was programmed and a third pod targeted. I then switched the holo-display back to the bridge where Zack and his sons had been. I smiled as they continued their fight. I smiled, until a thin blue stream of neutrons cut directly through their location. Zack and his squad were vaporized right before my eyes.

  I sat back on the Ogle cat mat with my jaw dropped open. Zack was gone. I was witness to an event that I was not prepared for. It was an event that my many years of experience, my many years of fight, my training and my will to continue could not process. I sat motionless, stunned and unable to act, until the first of the Ogle soldiers on the bridge grabbed my attention.

  I quickly commanded the Ogle ship to turn towards the Sun as I pushed its throttle full. The ship strained against the others in its pod as it slowly began to move forward. I then set two final blasters to overload on the bridge before springing into action with a well-timed leap. Eight seconds later the blasters exploded taking out an advancing Ogle squad along with the weapons and navigation stations. I drifted slowly up through the ceiling of the bridge and out into space.

  The Ogle pod continued to advance towards the Sun as the million BGS Marines pushed forward with their assaults. I watched intently as a second Ogle ship burst forth with blue neutron streams followed by a third. As the pod accelerated towards the Sun the Marines began their retreat. Nine minutes later the ships turned to flame as the super-heated plasma of the Sun's corona broke through the shields. The human battleships and BGS Marines moved quickly towards a second Ogle target.

  The battle surrounding Earth raged for two days. Earth's fleet fought valiantly, taking out four of the Ogle pods before their numbers were cut to only a few ships. Earth's shields held strong until the 28 remaining pods began to focus their beams on a single point. I floated helplessly in space as I watched my home fighting for its survival. The odds were now against us.

  Sections of the Earth shield first began to glow yellow as the localized static field generators began to fail. The yellow glow turned to orange and the orange to an ominous red. Earth's existence was now in its final throws.

  Just as the first section of shield failed a massive spinning matrix of Frekkin ships appeared near one of the pods. A black cloud of something I could not quite make out was released into the space surrounding the Ogle ships. Their particle beams were quickly diverted in an effort to clear the cloud from their surroundings.

  The Frekkin matrix then plowed directly into a second Ogle pod destroying two of the five ships before bouncing back away from it. It then encountered a third pod and again released a black cloud of some unknown substance or weapon into the space surrounding the Ogle pod. Several other Ogle pods turned their beams towards the Frekkin matrix as it bandied about in Earth's space.

  As I sat watching the battle unfold I could only speculate as to why the Frekkin had attacked. Perhaps they somehow needed Earth to survive. Perhaps they had waited patiently for an attack on the Ogle fleet because they had not been able to locate the Ogle home world. Perhaps they had some other unknown agenda... I began to feel a sudden fondness for the Frekkin as the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

  The Ogle particle beams cut deep through the Frekkin shields and the matrix began to spew forth debris from its destroyed globe ships. But the matrix was millions of ships strong and the particle beams, while devastating in their own right, were not countering the Frekkin threat with sufficient speed. The first of the Ogle pods to fall prey to the black cloud suddenly exploded with a bright blue fury as its neutron tubes were breached all at once.

  The Frekkin matrix bounced from pod to pod while releasing black clouds and ramming them. The destruction I was witness to was surreal and on a scale that was difficult to fathom. These two great empires warred with each other as a near defenseless Earth watched on. Explosions were bright and crisp and appeared to be in slow motion as the great warships battled.

  As the battle continued the tide began to slowly turn to the Frekkin. Their strategy was superior and their numbers supreme, but the Ogle were not ones to give up. As a third Ogle pod disintegrated the Frekkin's nemesis revealed their next card. It was the ace they had been holding up their sleeve. Half a million Meche ships dropped from light speed into the battle.

  The Meche ships fought with a ferocity that quickly told of their commitment to the Ogle. They considered the Ogle to be their gods and would fight to the death to protect them. And a fight to the death was delivered as the Frekkin shields and weapons were far superior. But the sheer numbers of Meche ships along with the powerful Ogle pods were proving an even fight for the Frekkin.

  Hours passed as the slow motion battle continued to rage. A pod would explode with bright fury followed by a stream of debris from the ever shrinking Frekkin matrix. Meche ships were surrendered as cannon fodder to further the Ogle cause. I then came to the realization that I was only minutes from Earth and the radio frequency transmitter in my helmet was still intact.

  I began to broadcast a mayday to my home world over a standard rescue frequency. I was taking a huge risk as the signal would easily be picked up by every ship doing battle around me. After releasing a two second burst transmission I again went silent. Ten minutes would tell if my signal had been received.

  Several minutes passed before a group of Meche ships moved close in to my position. I was within a hundred kilometers but it might as well have been a million as I could do nothing on my own but flail my arms and legs. Regardless of my immobility, I had no desire to board a Meche vessel. They were
easy targets for the Frekkin cube and I was not thrilled with their proximity to my location. For several minutes I waited in fear that it was my radio transmission that had brought them to my location. It was not.

  The Frekkin matrix turned in my direction and I watched helplessly as it closed on my position. At the last possible moment it released the black cloud weapon towards the Meche ships. The cloud spread quickly and moved in and amongst the ships as they attempted to sweep the space around them. Thousands of tiny flashes appeared as the Meche destroyed the items that formed the black cloud.

  But the items were too numerous and many arrived and then disappeared into the Meche ships they had targeted. Minutes later explosions from within penetrated the outer hulls as the Meche ships fought for their survival. My attention was soon diverted to a small black mass that was drifting my way. It was in the shape of the soldier.

  I reached out and grabbed an arm as the dead soldier began to float past. The soldier was human in size and shape but had lost a leg to Meche weapons fire. Without the protection of the suit the soldier had quickly bled out into the vacuum of space. As I clung to the dead body its motion sent the two of us spinning out of control. I turned and flailed, and then turned again before the rapid spin devolved into a slow rotation.

  The BGS suit was jet black, unlike any that I had seen before. Its Sodium skin was unmistakable as a thin layer of bright white material was fused to the outer shiny black skin. I slowly spun the body around until I was face to face with the black shield of the helmet. Again my belief of the soldier being Human was reinforced as the controls that locked the helmet to the suit were identical to mine.

  I wondered if the Humans and Frekkin had come to some type of a truce or perhaps a defensive pact. Why else would a human soldier be attacking a Meche or Ogle ship from the Frekkin matrix? Why else would mankind fight from a ship of a species we considered a mortal enemy? When I pressed the helmet latch and gave it a slight twist I found the simple truth.

  The helmet clicked and released as I gently pulled upwards. I was unprepared for what I saw next. As the helmet rose the face of the soldier was revealed... with a sudden jerk of revulsion I released the body I held. The face on the body was mine!

  The Frekkin had taken my body and cloned it millions of times over. I had been made into their super soldier, a soldier that had been raised to have an extreme devotion to its god, the Frekkin. And a soldier willing to fight and die on the field of battle without question or remorse. I had become the Frekkin's newest weapon.

  As the body drifted slowly away I again began to flail my arms and legs in an attempt to move towards it. On the right hand of the dead soldier was a BGS glove and on its belt a fresh power pack. I had pushed it away as I had released my grip before realizing the value that it possessed. It drifted only two meters distance from my grasp but again, it may as well have been a million.

  I cringed in anger and threw my fist which only served to send me tumbling uncontrollably. The next hour was spent twisting and turning, jerking in one direction or the other, in an attempt to slow my tumble. When I had sufficiently stabilized my movement the dead body had drifted another meter from me, its precious cargo slowly slipping away.

  I then took notice of the helmet that floated less than a meter from my grasp. I reasoned that if I could get the helmet I could use the inertia generated from pushing it away to propel me towards the body. But I was in need of something else, something else to move me to the helmet. I reached into the zippered pouch on my pants leg and withdrew the near empty power pack that I had placed there so many days before.

  I transferred the sodium reserve in the pack on my belt to the built in suit reservoir before removing the now empty pack. I then placed the old pack squarely on my belt and awaited the signal from my helmet computer that it had come online. As the signal flashed green I positioned myself for the throw.

  I aligned my body so that the dead soldier’s helmet was directly overhead. I then pulled the empty power pack in close to my body. With both hands in a downward motion I pushed the empty pack towards my feet. It drifted slowly away below me.

  The inertia from the pack was small, but sufficient enough to move me ever so slowly in the direction of the helmet. For 18 hours I drifted towards my prize as the battle around me continued. The Frekkin matrix had dropped to nearly half its original size, but not before taking out another four Ogle pods and countless thousands of Meche ships. Millions of my clones had been released and millions had no doubt given their lives for their gods.

  The eighteen hours of drift came to a conclusion as I gently wrapped my fingers around the base of the helmet. I pulled it in close taking care to not send myself further from the dead body. I moved slowly to position myself with my back towards my new target, taking care that my alignment was true. I then gently moved the helmet to the middle of my chest.

  With another shove of both hands I sent the helmet moving away. I had taken my one shot at success and now drifted towards my destiny, my attentions now turned back to the battle. Both sides continued to lose ships in quantity. It was a war of attrition and thus far there was no clear winner.

  I had been adrift for 12 hours after releasing the helmet; my new prize was still three meters from my grasp. The power pack on my belt had expired and I again removed it, pulled it in close to my chest and pushed it away. Any change in momentum had been ever so slight.

  When another ten hours had passed I was still two meters from the tools of my survival. I ran a quick calculation of my Sodium burn, I had 26 hours to reach my goal. As I gazed upon my beautiful planet I suddenly felt a calm that had previously evaded me. I reasoned that the two warring species would weaken themselves to the point where they could no longer destroy the shield surrounding the Earth. If the battle in the heavens continued, Earth would survive.

  As I drifted to within inches of the BGS glove and power pack before me the Frekkin and Ogle fight was drawing to a close. The Frekkin matrix held only a few hundred globe ships while the Ogle pod numbers had been reduced to one. The half million Meche ships had fallen prey to the millions of my clones that had been released from the Frekkin black clouds.

  In a last effort the Frekkin matrix spun wildly towards the remaining Ogle pod. Just before impact a final spurt of black soldiers were released as the matrix crashed into the Ogle ships. Four of the Ogle battleships crumpled and exploded as the fifth detached and broke free.

  The orange glow of the Frekkin matrix disintegrated as the last of the globe ships went silent. The final release of clone soldiers moved quickly around the final Ogle ship. Small explosions could be seen on its surface as a new internal war raged. Again I had a feeling of calm as the last of the attacking ships was taken offline. It looked as though Earth had again survived.

  Chapter 15

  The dead clone soldier was now in my grasp. The power pack was removed and attached to my belt. I was excited to now have another 45 days of power. I detached the BHD glove from the lifeless body and was again rewarded as it connected perfectly to my BGS suit. I aimed my fist towards Earth and for the first time in more than a month I was again moving under my own power.

  I did a quick calculation of my ETA on the planet and was a bit depressed that I had a two day flight to reach home, even with the glove on full. As I flew towards Earth I took note of the disabled Ogle battleship to my right. The battle within continued to rage as the occasional blast could be seen on the ships exterior. No doubt my clones were pressing forward with their fight.

  I again began to broadcast a mayday message with the hope that a ship would be sent to assist me. But a rescue was not in the works. Thirty minutes after my journey had begun the Ogle ship regained power and turned its bow towards the Sun. My mood then turned from one of elation to one of terror. Four CME cylinders were launched and quickly began their journey towards the Sun; double the number that the Ogle would normally use. Minutes later, the Ogle ship exploded in a bright blue flash as the neutron tubes on-board
were compromised.

  I continued my progress towards home until I saw that the CME cylinders had entered the Sun's corona. I screamed into my helmet as Earth's time was now limited to a little over two days before the super-heated plasma from the coronal mass ejection would reach her. After checking my distance I began to I altered course to a perpendicular angle. I would be watching the death of my planet from above.

  I struggled with the idea that the massive fleets of Earth were gone. Not even a single transport lifted up through the atmosphere to ferry citizens to safety. Had all the ships of Earth been committed to battle elsewhere? Were my fellow citizens left to die a fiery death by CME? And what of Alvin? Had the Ogle destroyed the new colony there?

  Once again the feelings of despair rampaged through my mind. I was trapped, floating in the vastness of space, about to witness the complete destruction of my world, and I could do nothing to stop it. Was there no one left in the AMP to assist us? Were we truly alone in the universe and on the verge of complete annihilation?

  My despair only grew as the great dark spots began to form on the side of the Sun facing the Earth. Tears rolled down my face as the inevitable plasma flares began to build in intensity. I screamed into my transmitter for someone, anyone, to escape, but received no reply. The dark spots on the Sun boiled with activity until the forces of gravity could no longer hold back the super-heated plasma. It burst forth with a rage that far surpassed any other CME event I had been witness to.

  The huge flares curled outward before straightening and then releasing wave after wave of highly charged electrons and protons. The highly charged super-heated matter streamed towards Earth like a slow motion flame from a flame-thrower. I watched and waited, desperately hoping for that last minute miracle rescue. But Earth's time had come to an end.