“If we no longer require life support,” Cal said, waving a tentacle at the group. “I could probably boost shield strength by at least ten percent.”
“We need that power for propulsion,” Booth replied. “I might be able to get us up to about one-quarter speed, but that won’t get us through. Once they start firin’, it’ll all be over quick.”
“Our shields recharge when hit by energy weapons,” Lee said, his eyes flashing now in a display of command authority. “Once they start firing we should be okay for a little while.”
“We have relays down all over the ship,” Cal added. “That Gizzeen energy isn’t really compatible with our systems. We would need extensive modifications to absorb that much energy.”
“I can help with that,” Alice said. “The energy level isn’t the problem. One of the numbers rattling around in my head has been the frequency oscillation of this whole universe. I may be able to modify the wave-guides to accept the energy. We’ll light up like a Christmas tree, but we might make it in.”
“How long will that take?” Chang asked. “We need to move fast.”
“If the computer cooperates, a few minutes,” Alice replied. “It’s really just a matter of—”
“They’re moving again,” Kama said, staring back at her console. “The Gizzeen … a group of them are splitting off and heading this way.”
“I guess they heard us calling,” Josh said, turning back to the navigation station. “I’d go to evasive, but I don’t know what that’d look like just now.”
“Alright,” Chang said, waving to the whole bridge. “You all know what you need to do. Let’s do it.”
Alice returned to her station, resisting the urge to look back at Lee. For his part, he stood by the navigation console and tried to help Josh. Power reserves were being brought to bear and systems were being taken down to boost whatever chance they had. Alice was the first to announce success as the shield system snapped on. The projection screen blanked out as it overloaded, and Chang was forced to activate the chair holograms.
The first hit on their shields jolted the ship hard, nearly throwing Lee across the bridge. He held on tight to the console while Josh brought the engines on-line. Booth was screaming obscenities as he forced power into the engineering console while the ship picked up speed.
“How many?” Lee shouted to Cal over the rumbling of the ship.
“No more than half a dozen,” the Octopod called back. “If I had one bank of cannons I could take them all out.”
“What do you have?” Chang asked. “Can’t we fire something?”
“Not if we want to make it to the bridge.”
“Systems are already startin’ to overload,” Booth called over the noise. “I cannot guarantee we’ll make it now without somebody gettin’ out and pushing’.”
“We’ll never make it like this,” Josh said, turning the ship hard to avoid a combined cascade effect. “I’m going to have to pull away.”
“I’m getting a signal!” Kama shouted. “The frequency is running too slow, but I can adjust. Someone’s coming through the bridge.”
All eyes went to the screen as Kama compensated for the interference. A staticky image manifested in two-dimensions, and the sound dragged, but Lee could make out human ship features. It meant their signal had gotten through and that the bridge was two-way.
“Who is it?” Chang said, stepping closer to the screen to see through the static.
“Unknown configuration,” Cal said. “That’s the strangest looking ship I’ve ever seen. It’s smaller than a frigate or corvette, but it’s not a fighter.”
“I can clear up the signal,” Kama said. “The cycles are speeding up now. I’ve got it.”
The image snapped clear, and for the first time Lee could make out the smiling face on the screen. Long hair tied back at the temples and a black utility vest completed the picture as Connor Jakes nodded back through the screen.
“I got your call,” the man said. “You look like hell, Lee.”
“You’re about the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” replied the captain. “Present company accepted. We’ve picked up a few friends. Can you help?”
“I’ll get them, you get ready to go,” Jakes said. “It don’t look like the old girl is gonna make it back on her own, and I got space.”
On the pilot console, Lee called up a tactical map. The Gizzeen were still projecting the bridge matrix and Jakes’ little ship was able to slip by without attracting too much notice. The ship chased down two of Resolute’s pursuers and opened fire. The ships, not much larger than fighters, were obliterated in a cloud of dissipating energy. Caught off guard, two more of the Gizzeen ships vanished from the screen. The remaining two swung around in formation and attacked. Jakes’ ship was fast but hampered by the strange properties of the space around them. Gizzeen electrical arcs danced around them as Liberty rocked back and forth. Wanting to do something, Lee reached past Josh and tapped a few keys. The pilot looked at what Lee had done and frowned.
“You do realize that’s insane?” Josh said to Lee. “I mean, I know you’ve been gone, but we can’t do this.”
“It’s not what we can do that bothers me,” Lee replied with a smile. “It’s what they can’t.”
Resolute accelerated into the fight. Jakes’ ship spun on its axis to bring the fighters in close, swiftly around the bow of the battleship just as the ship was pulling forward. The first fighter scraped by the shields, but the second ran headlong into the bow. Resolute shook with the impact but held. A light show danced on the screen as debris impacted the enhanced shields. Jakes flipped over and opened fire on the remaining fighter, scoring a hit. Armor plating peeled away under a hail of plasma fire.
“Now that’s crazy,” Jakes said over the comm. “Even for me. Now open the door and I can take you back before any more come crashin’.”
“Port docking bay,” Lee called back. “Full stop, Josh. We can set up the run by remote.”
“Alright, people, time to go,” Chang said, waving his hands back at the bridge crew. “All hands to the port docking bay. Abandon ship. I repeat: abandon ship.”
“I ain’t leavin’ the old girl,” Booth said as Chang grabbed the man from his seat. “She’ll never make it on her own. You need someone on board to compensate for the—”
“You’ll get off this ship when I tell you to, Mister Booth,” Chang said, pulling the Scotsman’s face close to his own. “This ship will make it through. And I need you on that ship.”
Booth stared at the determination on the admiral’s face. He took one last look at the console and turned back to the door. Chang looked back to the pilots console, where Josh and Lee were programming the course. After completing the program, Lee slapped Josh on the shoulder and forced the man up. Goldstein also paused as he left the bridge to look at the station that had become more than his home. Alice stood at the door waiting for Lee. He double-checked the console and then turned.
“Go,” he called. “I’ll be right behind you.”
“No, I’m not leaving this bridge without you ever again.”
“Alice,” Chang began, “Lee and I have to activate the destruct sequence from here. You need to get on that ship. I promise you he’ll be right behind.”
“I have no reason to trust you,” Alice said, stepping closer to the smaller man. “You have lied to us both for so long I don’t think you even know what the truth looks like anymore.”
“Then trust me,” Lee said. “I need you safe and I need the admiral here. Go. I swear to you I will be there with you when we get home.”
Alice looked at the two men. Each was determined not to budge. Alice turned to Chang and held up her fist. The admiral didn’t flinch this time, despite the memory of the pain that hand had caused.
“You bring him to that ship yourself or I swear I won’t stop at your nose this time.”
Without another word, Alice left the bridge, leaving the two men behind.
“You know w
e don’t have to both be here for this,” Lee said. “The guidance system will activate when the pressure outside matches the bridge. Only one of us needs to stay to set it off.”
“You need to go,” Chang replied, stepping back to the command well. “Alice will never forgive me if you stay behind.”
“Ronald, I—”
“For once in your life would you obey an order? Get off my ship!”
“I’m sorry, Admiral, but…” Lee stood straighter as he held up a salute. “A ship needs a captain.”
“And a wife needs a husband,” replied Chang. “Now go.”
*
The ship had gone quiet. Chang had never been on a vessel with no crew before. There had always been someone. Even the museum ships his parents had taken him to visit as a child had curators and proctors on board. Now, alone on board the only ship he could ever say he loved, he was having a hard time with the serenity. The thrum and tick of the ship was muted as the systems systematically shut down. Booth had taken the frail alien Engineer to the M-space generator room just before leaving, so he had the bridge to himself. Even the hum of life support had been shut down, and the air had grown still.
In the quiet, he thought of his brother. The Ch’Tauk had taken his parents and the Earth had taken his sister, but his brother had died trying to save lives. He had risen up against the slave traders who had attempted to sell them for meat. His death had hardened Ronald into the manipulator he had become—all of it to honor the memory of his brother the hero … a solemn promise he had made on the man’s body. He would live up to the memory of the boy who had stayed behind when he had run to the stars.
A shudder ran through the ship. He pulled the monitor up on the command chair and saw the relay failures. Sweet Liberty was flying cover, but Resolute was still on her own and failing faster than he had expected. The navigation panel went dark, followed by the lights.
Chang felt for the console and tapped every button he could find. Helplessness swept over him as the ship seemed to be resisting its own demise. He moved back again, slumping into the darkened command seat. The ship would drift into the bridge on inertia, but it would be crushed by the tidal forces, failing its final mission and rendering Chang’s sacrifice pointless. He had failed.
There was a faint beep. Chang looked over his shoulder to see a single light on the engineering console light up and blink. In seconds, the rest of the console activated and brightened the bridge. Chang looked around as systems burst to life again. Even consoles which had been darkened began to activate on their own. His holographic display crackled to light and an image smiled back at him. She was an average looking woman with a pleasant face, looking back at him with a mild expression.
“Hello,” the woman said. “You looked like you needed help.”
“Hello,” Chang said. “Who are you?”
“My name is Glory,” replied the pleasant-faced woman. “It’s time to go.”
She placed her hand against the nearest bulkhead. Thin tendrils of golden fluid flowed from her hands and into the walls of the ship. At her feet were two empty glass containers. Chang watched as the lights began to blaze. He turned and sat back down in the captain’s seat. The image of the swirling blue-brown vortex filled the screen ahead. Chang thought of the sacrifices others had made for him in the course of his career and what he had been forced to do. As the ship pulled forward into darkness, it took on the brightness of a star. Admiral Ronald Chang felt at peace, and gave his final order to the ship around him.
“Full speed ahead.”
Sweet Liberty 2
Lee stood on the bridge of the strange ship and watched as the vortex grew larger. A single display was focused to the stern as Resolute plunged into the maelstrom. For a moment, she appeared to fall behind as running lights dimmed and fell dark.
Lee wanted to order his old ship to turn, but before he could, the lights came back on. This time, though, it blazed with color, every system on board activating and the shielding brilliant against the blue-brown vortex. There was no chance at communications, but Lee thought he saw a dip in the battleship’s course, one pilot’s gesture of respect for another as the ship righted and accelerated.
“Hold her steady,” Jakes said to his pilot, Bonnie Estevez. “We need to go a bit faster if we can. When that thing goes boom, we don’t wanna be inside.”
“I’m holding the ship as steady as I can now,” Bonnie replied. “There’s no accelerating in this thing.”
“Well then, how do you explain that?” Jakes asked, pointing to Resolute. “That thing ain’t even got engines right now and she’s gaining on us.”
“It’s not possible,” Alice whispered. “The power required to do that isn’t available. It would take a full powered reactor buildup to produce that much thrust through the vortex. Every relay on board must be burning out.”
“Well, she’s burning something over there,” Jakes said. “Ten seconds to translation. I’d hold on to somethin’. This one gonna be bumpy.”
Lee watched silently as the battleship grew brighter. It suddenly fell away behind them but remained the brightest thing on the screen. The ship grew brilliant, an exploding star in the center of the swirling maelstrom. It was a glorious sight, as if a new god had been born. Around them, the vortex began to collapse.
“Two … one…” Jakes counted down. “We’re out! Holy—”
Sweet Liberty was flipped over by the force of the implosion. Lee held tight to Alice in one arm and the nearest console with the other, both of them crouched low to the deck. A relay blew over their heads, showering them with hot sparks as the lights dimmed. When they brightened, Estevez was struggling with the controls, trying to steady their flight. The screen showed a small patch of blue leakage, but otherwise dark space.
“We did it!” Alice cried. “We actually made it!”
Earth suddenly appeared on the screen, surrounded by fighting vessels. Lee counted colored bolts of energy as deadly fire was exchanged on both sides. His thoughts travelled back to the last sight he had of his ship. She had glowed with the brilliance of a star for one shining moment. At the heart of the brilliance was the soul of his friend, and that made all the difference.
“We ain’t outta this yet,” Jakes said. “In case you forgot, there’s a war goin’ on.”
“Not a war, Connor,” Lee said, turning to face the pirate. “Just the last battle.”
He turned back to see a new series of vortices opening beyond the planet. The fireballs shed from familiar shapes being escorted by unfamiliar outlines. Ships from across the galaxy had arrived to drive the invaders away. The new arrivals struck into the heart of the Gizzeen lines, shattering the defenses and sending enemy ships fleeing.
“The last battle,” he said to himself. “Finally.”
Epilogue
“I’ve got to get off this ship,” Lee said to the dead. “I don’t want to die like this.”
He rushed past the dead, seeking shelter from the nightmare. The short stairs leading to a lower deck was bathed in flashing red lights. There was an M-space breach somewhere below. It would consume the ship shortly if Lee couldn’t find Alice and get away. He ran blindly through the strange, endless corridors, the grasping arms of the dying reaching for him, making escape impossible. He was searching for her, and knew she would be searching for him.
At an intersection, he turned towards the docking bay. A wide, cavernous space opened up ahead. In his mind he knew this space couldn’t exist in this ship. It was a landing bay, or a massive vessel with ships lining each side. There were no military vessels here, though, only passenger ships and private yachts. From somewhere above he heard a scream, the voice as familiar as his own.
“Alice!”
He scanned the area, searching for the voice but found nothing. An old fighter sat on a cradle behind a clear wall, with tools scattered about. It was familiar, but out of place among the sleek civilian ships. Another scream and he looked up, the voice in terror and high above h
is head. He wanted to take the fighter, but saw the engine pods had been dismantled and a small fire was burning. Behind the fire was a ladder he hadn’t noticed before, and he ran toward it. His arm burned as he passed the fire, seeing the black flag with the red sun logo consuming itself on the deck. It didn’t matter, he climbed.
More screams gave wings to his climbing and he began to take the ladder two rungs at a time. His legs burned as he pulled himself upwards towards the sound of the woman he loved. Up and up, for days it seemed, as the rungs multiplied above him. Each time he heard Alice he tried to speed up, but it was no use. More rungs appeared ahead and fewer below.
“All hands…” the voice of Captain Ortiz thundered in his ears. “Abandon ship. I repeat, anyone left alive should be left behind. Abandon the crew, now.”
“No!” Lee shouted, and suddenly the rungs ended. “I will not abandon my ship!”
Before him was a sight from hell. A tall figure, bathed in white and staggeringly beautiful, held Alice over the open floor by the neck. She was struggling to get free but the creature was too powerful. As he watched, the creature’s face changed from an angel’s to a lumpy and misshapen melon. Segmented eyes changed to white-on-white pupils, which then changed to a blue and piercing stare. None of it made sense and his mind spasmed. Skeletal projections extended into broad white wings behind the creature. It hissed and clicked in his mind before settling on a voice. It was the voice of Ronald Chang.
“A captain needs a ship, Lee,” the Gizzeen said. “You left yours to die. Like you left her here to be destroyed. It is everything I expected from a half-assed pilot.”
“No,” Lee said, stepping forward with his hands out to Alice. “I didn’t abandon anyone. I saved everyone. I was the captain.”
“You were a failure, Lee,” said Alice, swinging from the neck in the Gizzeen’s hand. “And you failed this time too.”
The hand opened and Alice fell. Lee reached over the side but he was too late. He watched as she fell, screaming her name even as she—
Resolute Glory (The War for Terra Book 8) Page 29
