by Max Swan
“Strap in tight, we’re in for a bumpy ride,” Paul said.
They suddenly shook again from a nearby explosion. The city looked dark, lit only by the raging fires of destruction. Dust and smoke billowed across the park like a thick curtain, and paper rained from the sky in an endless drizzle.
The transport shot straight into the air, causing the women to scream and children to cry, as the g-forces pushed on them. Marcus peered out the window at the city that used to be his home, and let out a sob. Tears ran down his cheeks. Melbourne had been awarded ‘the most livable’ city in the world, with its beautiful gardens, culture, shopping, arts and healthy lifestyle. As he watched his hometown get obliterated by forces he could not even begin to comprehend, it became too much. Garan fighters, shaped like a spearhead, fired on the base of Eureka Tower. The building had been a testament to the engineering ability of man. It had a gold crown representing a past gold rush, and a red stripe representing the blood spilled during the Eureka Stockade rebellion. The blue glass cladding and the white lines on the building representing the Eureka Stockade Flag. This building was one of Marcus’s favorite places in the city. His eyes nearly bulged out of his head as the near three-hundred meter tall building began falling, taking other buildings with it. The whole grisly scene soon covered in a layer of thick dust rising as a boiling grey cloud. The Garan fighters shot disruptor beams out of the dust cloud, triumphantly spinning as they did, making him shiver all over.
“Is it always like this?” he asked Paul, but not taking his eyes off the destruction below.
Paul looked briefly out the window next to him. “Yeah, I’m afraid so. Once the Garan’s are finished, there’ll be very little to show that humans were once the masters of this planet.”
“You told me this before, and I don’t think I really believed you until I seen this,” Marcus said gesturing to the window with his hand.
“I’m sorry Marcus, I really am.”
“Was it like this in your dimension?”
Paul nodded. “In my dimension, Earth suffered terrible devastation when the Garan’s attacked. But my Earth was more technologically advanced compared to this Earth when it happened, so eventually we drove them off. We survived, but at a tremendous cost.”
Suddenly Paul made the transport swerve violently, to avoid being hit by enemy fire. The passengers let out some screams during the sudden movement. Marcus gripped a handle near the window.
“Looks as if we’re not going to survive,” Marcus mumbled as he looked out the window.
Paul looked over at him for a moment. “But you are, Marcus, thanks to you human culture will live on.”
*****
Getting back to Ship proved more difficult than Paul had hoped. While the stealth technology kept them hidden, literally thousands of Garan Fighters cruised around the upper atmosphere of Earth, firing on the ground below. Trying to find a way past them seemed impossible, and they had nearly got shot down several times. As he detected any opening he could exploit, it would quickly fill with a burst of disruptor fire, causing him to take evasive maneuvers. He had been in the air now for nearly thirty-minutes when he seen Nadirs concerned face appear in the bottom right corner of the transports main monitor. Marcus gasped at the sight of him.
“There’s too much traffic in the upper atmosphere. You might need to lie low until it disperses,” he said.
The wrinkles on his face almost writhing in anxiety. Sweat rolled off Paul’s temple now.
With a set jaw, and deep frown, Paul shouted, “Sir, I’ve come this far, and I’m not giving up now!”
The qdrive of the transport whirred loudly, as he pushed it to its limits dodging enemy fire.
“Then all we can suggest from here is that you use a Y-field. These Garan’s probably won’t have a clue about this technology,” Nadir said.
Paul’s face relaxed, and he nodded. “Now that’s a fucking useful idea. I’m on it.”
Using Y-fields in space combat isn’t common practice in Paul’s time, as while it will shut down vessels nearby, it’s presence quickly alerts the enemy to your general position. Usually to your detriment.
“Y-field activated, radius five kilometers should do it.”
Marcus looked out the window next to him, and sure enough several Garan fighters suddenly dropped from the sky.
“It’s working,” he said, excitedly pointing.
Paul nodded, while working his console, the transport passed through the space created, and out of Earth’s upper atmosphere into space. He banked the Transport sharply to his left, heading for the Moon. It began to look as if they’d get clear.
Above them, twenty Garan Battleships and thirty War-Scouts loomed in a high orbit of Earth.
Marcus exclaimed, “Wow!” as he watched the great vessels roll by.
He felt as if he were sinking into his seat as the large ellipse shaped Battleships towered above them. Words failed him, he held his arms firmly across his chest to stop himself from shaking. Given the ease at which the smaller fighters were destroying them on Earth, the size and might of this fleet seemed more akin to using a Mack truck to squash an ant. Tears ran down his cheeks again.
Suddenly, the transport shook violently, and alarms sounded making the passengers groan in fear. Paul struggled to get control for a moment, but managed to smooth out the flight, and silence the alarms. He looked over his console studying it intensely.
Looking grey, Marcus asked, “What was that?”
“We’ve been hit, but not bad enough to kill us. We touched the edge of a disruptor burst,” Paul answered not looking up.
“Report?” Nadir appeared on the monitor again.
“We got our tail burned, Colonel. She’s holding together at the moment, but stealth and camouflage are going to fail soon,” Paul answered loudly, working the lights on his console quicker than before.
“Fuck! Then punch it, get some distance between you and that fleet. Maybe they won’t notice you.”
“That’s my thoughts exactly. At maximum speed now, and should reach the Moon in ten minutes,” Paul reported.
“We’ve lifted off, sending you our heading, so you can intercept us.”
Paul looked over the numbers rolling over one portion of his console, and waited as the computer worked out the quickest intercept course. Once the computer has calculated the course, he sent it back to Ship.
“Fifteen-minutes to intercept,” Paul said.
The Moon loomed larger, and larger on the monitor as they fled Earth. For the majority of humans, being so close to the Moon would be considered by most people an important moment in life. However, Marcus just stared at the Moon blankly, barely registering it.
A buzzing alarm sounded, and the computer announced, “Warning: Stealth generator and camouflage have failed.”
It repeated it several times before Paul switched it off. He studied the sensors to see if the Garan’s had started following them. Marcus shut his eyes, sagging into his chair and shaking his head repeatedly. Paul looked briefly at him, knowing there’s nothing he could do for the man.
Another alarm sounded, and several seconds later Paul shouted, “Colonel, they’ve detected us, and two War-Scouts are pursuing. Transport ETA ten-minutes.”
“We’ve spotted them. You stay on course, we’ll deal with the Garan’s,” Nadir’s voice replied.
The transport had sling shot around the dark side of the Moon, and there in its shadow Ship came into view, moving away. The transport had picked up speed, because of the sling shot around the Moon, but the War-Scouts are still closing. The small qdrive on the transport whirred loudly now, filling the interior with noise and heat. The passengers sweated profusely as the inside temperature controls failed to keep up with the output of heat from the motor. Every reading on the console heading into the red, as Paul did his best to keep the systems functioning. A high pitched crackling sound, similar to what you hear when a cellphone signal interferes with electr
onic equipment, could be heard all over the transport. The transport shook, as its electronic shields took the impact of disruptor fire from a Garan War-Scout. Marcus shrieked, with most other passengers. Paul kept his attention on the console, and didn’t even look at the monitor.
“Colonel, we’re going to have to come in hot,” Paul said.
“I agree. The hanger bay has been setup for it. We’ll keep the Gargoyles off your tail. Good luck,” Nadir said.
Marcus shook uncontrollably as he watched the strange looking vessel grow larger on the monitor. It looked so different from the Garan spaceships. This spaceship seemed impossibly long and wide, shaped almost like a whale without fins. It didn’t glow from lights all over it, as the Garan vessels did. It looked dark and foreboding. If he were to imagine what an alien spaceship would look like, this would be it. Abruptly a burst of disruptor fire shot out from the back of the spaceship, and passed over them.
“Two-minutes and counting,” Paul shouted.
“Confirmed, we’ve vaporized one of the War-Scouts. The other is still pursuing,” Nadir reported.
Paul answered with a deep frown. “He’ll have company soon, now they know we’re here.”
“Two more War-Scouts are about to reach the Moon. Our drones are engaging them now,” Nadir said, but he looked at something else.
“I’m sorry, sir,” Paul said.
Nadir looked up at the monitor. “Sorry for what?”
Paul sighed. “I know this situation is exactly what you wanted to avoid. So I’m sorry, I guess I fucked up again?”
Nadir shook his head slightly wondering why Paul would say such a thing at a time like this. “Major, what you’ve done today is the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my career. I assure you, you have no reason to be sorry. Now move your ass so we can get outta here,” Nadir said.
“Yes, sir, and thank-you. Making our approach now.”
Nobody liked emergency landings, let alone Paul. However, with Ship now taking the fire off his tail, he knew he didn’t have to come in as hot as he thought he did moments ago.
He tapped the intercom into the compartments where the refugees were. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m Major Goddard, your pilot. We’re about to make an emergency landing, so make sure your harnesses are tight. Good luck.”
The transport entered the landing tube at fifty times the recommended speed the safety regulations stated. Once the transport had fully entered the landing tube, Paul used the qdrive to create a dense gravity-well behind the transport, making it slow immediately. As he increased the density of the gravity, the passengers again felt crushed by the high g-forces generated. When the transport emerged into the hanger bay Paul had managed to reduce its speed to only ten-times as fast as it should be travelling. He shut off the qdrive when the transport entered the hanger bay, and the big boxy vessel scraped along the floor for one-hundred meters in a shower of sparks, until it ran into a net that abruptly stopped the transport from going any further. He took a deep breath in relief, and wiped the sweat off his brow. Turning to see a pale looking Marcus, gripping his seat grimly with eyes clenched tightly shut. Paul chuckled at the sight.
He tapped Marcus’s arm, making him jump. “Are you OK?” Paul asked, with a slight smile.
Marcus’s chin shook. “N-No!”
“That’s a helluva way to break your space cherry, eh?” Paul said, jovially slapping him on the arm.
Marcus shook all over. “Something I’ll have nightmares about for the rest of my life, no doubt.”
Paul laughed, and touched the intercom. “Colonel, how are we looking?”
“Ships now passing Mars, but a Garan Battleship is chasing us,” he said.
Paul took his harness off, knowing his job is done for now. There’s no point trying to get to the Bridge, as a void insertion is close, so there’s not enough time to get there before everything shuts down. He decided to go and see how the passengers had faired during their bumpy ride to Ship.
*****
Ship rocked as a missile exploded near her stern, close to the hanger bay. They were coming under heavy fire now, and were finding it difficult to get enough distance between Ship and the Garan Battleship pursuing them. Entering the void under fire is dangerous. The brief time spent in the plasma tunnel surrounding the rip in space, known as ‘the subway’, makes a Ship an easy target.“Entering the subway, plasma feed terminated,” Dexter reported on the Bridge.
Nadir sat back in his chair letting out a sigh. “Good work Mr. Crimpson, activate IEH protocols for the drones. They’ve done their job for us.”
Nadir watched his console, feeling his heart slow. The Void is close now, and the fact the Garan’s were still using disruptors means that the subway would absorb it, and they’d be safe.
Dexter suddenly turned sharply to look at Nadir, his eyes almost bulging from his head. “Sir, the Battleship has fired two nuclear missiles at us!” he shouted.
“Nukes? They’re plugging the sink!” Nadir spat nearly jumping out of his chair.
The biggest threat to a vessel in the subway is nuclear weapons. The subway didn’t absorb this kind of energy, but it acted as a funnel, concentrating the full force of the explosion into a small area, relatively speaking. It’s an effective way to stop a fleeing vessel when plasma based weapons become useless. In the EMC, this tactic is called: ‘Plugging the Sink’.
“The drones?” Nadir asked hopefully.
Dexter shook his head. “IEH protocols activated, sir,” he said.
“Launch countermeasures,” he ordered, knowing it’s too late for that too.
“Countermeasures, away.”
“Fuck it!” he said climbing from his seat and going to Dexter’s side.
Nadir touched the console, and Ships speed increased dramatically.
The computer announced, “One minute to void insertion.”
Nadir looked at Dexter, noting the nervous twitch at the side of his mouth. “We’ll make it. Those missiles won’t get near us,” he said trying to reassure Dexter.
“They don’t need to get near us,” Dexter replied looking at the countdown clock on the main monitor, which had ticked below thirty seconds.
Nadir knew Dexter is right, all the missiles needed to do is detonate in the subway, and the shock wave will do the rest.
Dexter grabbed Nadirs arm getting his attention. “Sir, may I suggest you meld with Ship. We’re going to need you in the Void to turn us away from the shock wave that will come through the tear behind us.”
Nadir nodded. “Right.”
He turned, and racing to his chair, he touched the fleshy arm. Suddenly, he disappeared as if he were a waft of smoke being sucked up by a powerful vacuum.
Sitting alone on the Bridge, Dexter fastened his harness tightly around his small body. He thought, at least Nadir doesn’t have to die alone. One of us should die with someone they love. The clock counted below ten-seconds, so he closed his eyes and silently prayed.
*****
In the hanger bay, Pau kept all the passengers confined to the transport, much to their frustration. The modified stun wave they used earlier that night had worn off after all they’d been through. He told them they were still in danger until they entered the void. The refugees, of course, had no idea what he was talking about, and he didn’t have time to explain it to them. Fortunately, they seemed to listen to Marcus, as most of them knew him, so he had some authority. Paul walked out the back of the transport, leaving Marcus to reassure the refugees. He wanted to see what damage, if any, had been done by their landing while the lights still worked. The most damage had been to the floor, since transports don’t use the rail to land, as they’re too big. Big dark scars in the concrete floor showed the impact.
Ships computer started counting down over the PA system from twenty-seconds. Not long now, he thought. Suddenly, the floor lurched beneath him, throwing him across the hanger bay until his body crashed into shuttle. He grabbed it, feeling for the d
oor release so he could climb inside to safety. Ship lurched again, and he found himself falling through emptiness, eventually colliding with a Warbird. Again, he hung on tight, but the collision had winded him badly. He felt sick, he looked around to find he were at least five meters in the air. He pulled himself up, and found a small button hidden in a recess of the Warbird and hit it, the door began opening.
Darkness fell on the hanger bay, and Paul slipped feeling himself fall, but not seeing what’s below. For a moment, as Ship lurched around him, he felt weightless. Floating, he spotted a shuttle nearby and reached toward it. Gravity suddenly returned, and he fell, hitting the floor hard. His body screamed in pain, as Ship again lurched throwing him further along the floor until he finally stopped unconscious. After a few minutes, he opened his eyes to the darkness, broken by intermittent dull green biolights. He checked himself. One ankle felt sprained, his breathing hurt which could only mean he broke some ribs, and his head-ached thanks to two concussions in a short time. No doubt I’ll be bruised all over, he thought.
Sitting himself up with some effort and much grunting, he looked around. We’ve had made it into the Void, but only just by the looks of it, he thought. I wonder what happened. He heard some screams, and moans on his left, and remembered he had refugees to take care of. Climbing to his feet and testing the ankle, it hurt badly when he put weight on it. There’s a first-aid kit in the transport, he thought, and pain killers. So gingerly he began limping toward the transport.
Just another fine day in the Corps, he thought.
The End.
